Awakened
by PackageHD
Summary: Shadow the Hedgehog finds himself on a foreign planet 50 years after the incident on the ARK. He soon finds out he's on Earth. Realizing how much has changed, he meets a young woman working at a breakfast diner to help him, but will she be the help he's looking for, or will she be more trouble than meets the eye? Shadow origin story, my own take on it. Read and Review! Complete!
1. Chapter 1

_Quick note, I've done a origin story for Shadow, but I honestly didn't like it, I hated how I rushed it, so I'm writing this when taking breaks from my other stories. Anyways, this will get uploaded in bunches, I doubt I'll upload one chapter at a time with this story, but that depends on how long some of the chapters are! Last thing, this story is told in Shadow's pov, and every once in a while I might hop into someone else's thoughts, but if I do, I'll make it clear who it is! Enjoy and review!_

 _I own the characters Jessica and Diane, the Sonic characters are owned by Sega._

 _Awakened - Chapter 1 - Where the hell am I?_

"Hey sleepy head, time to get up." A soft voice whispered.

Her voice sent chills down my spine, I opened my eyelids to find no other than my best friend waiting on me. Her big blue eyes and long golden hair had me mesmerized for a moment, but her voice brought me back to reality.

"Come on Shadow, grandpa needs to see you!" the voice called out, now a bit farther off.

"Coming Maria." I replied.

I got up and stretched, then walked over and grabbed a white t-shirt and threw on some ripped black jeans. I slid on my hover skates and my inhibitor rings, then walked over to my calendar.

 _3 years on the ARK today… does that make it my birthday?_

My thoughts were broken by the call of attention from Maria.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, get in here!" she demanded. Normally, anyone who spoke in that tone with me would end up with a chaos spear through the stomach, but Maria was different. What can I say, when you're with the same person everyday for 3 years, you grow used to them.

I skated off and found Maria, who had on the exact same outfit as me… minus the hover shoes and inhibitor rings of course. In place, she wore a bracelet I made her a while back, and she wore white sneakers.

"Wow Shadow, if you wanted to twin you could've just asked!" she joked.

I smirked a tad bit, then walked over and grabbed her hand. "Do you realize what today is?" I asked as we began walking together. The ARK hallways were so dull, not much color, yet the view made up where it lacked in style. We walked over to one of the many huge windows and glanced down at Earth.

"Yeah Shadow, it's Wednesday!" she said in a sarcastic tone. "Of course I know what today is, it's your creation-day!" she said with a big smile.

I removed my hand from hers and leaned against the window.

"True, but today's also something _way_ better Maria, today marks three years since we became friends." I responded, my smile almost as big as hers.

"AHH SHADOW! THAT'S SO SWEET!" she ran and gave me the biggest hug possible, I wouldn't dare admit it, but she was squeezing me so hard I couldn't breathe. After I returned the embrace, she pulled away and grabbed my hand.

"This causes for celebration, let's see what the chef can cook up for us!"

"After you, Maria."

After that, she took off and I followed close behind, as we walked, I couldn't help but let my mind wonder. _To think I was made to protect this sweet, innocent girl. Who would wanna hurt her?_

My thoughts came to an end when we reached the kitchen table, I was taken back quite honestly. A sign hung from the ceiling, handmade, Maria's handwriting. _Happy Creation-Day Shadow, Make The Best Of It!_ There was also a vanilla ice cream cake with three candles on top.

"Maria… you did all this? For me?"

She gave a nod and a big smile. "Shadow, you're the best, so you deserve the best."

I gave her a quick hug, then we sat down and sadly… I devoured the entire cake within minutes. My stomach rumbled and I let out a loud burp.

"Woah Shadow, I don't know where all that food goes, but you never get bigger or smaller!"

"Heh, yeah, perks to being a creation I guess." I said with a smirk. It didn't bother me too much, but Maria was really the only family I had, I wasn't like anyone else, I had no mother, no father, no siblings. It was just me and my best friend, and that was okay.

After that display in the kitchen, I played a game of tag with her(Though I was clearly faster, I always let her win.), then we watched a movie. Admittedly the ARK didn't have a vast selection of movies, we had watched the same ones over and over again, but it made Maria happy, and that made me happy. Once the movie ended, we took a stroll back over to the window we had stopped at earlier.

"It's truly beautiful isn't it Shadow." She said, leaning up and pointing at the huge planet next to us.

I simply nodded, I was deep in thought as I glared out the window. I saw something I had never seen before, some sort of ship flying towards the ship.

"Is the professor expecting guests Maria?"

"No… why?" her usual happy tone was non existence, her voice filled with worry sent chills down my spine.

"Go hide, I'm going to find the professor, I'll come find you, I promise, now go!" I pushed her off into the opposite direction and then took off, dashing past scientists giving me wild looks, once I reached the professor's room, I entered to find him surrounded by GUN agents.

 _GUN? Aren't they responsible for the funding that created me? Why're they hurting the professor…_

"There he is!" one of the agents called out, the guns that were aimed on the professor were now aimed on me.

"Easy, I'm not gonna hurt anyone, what's going on?" I replied, waving for them to put their guns down.

"Not so fast hedgehog, you're coming with us!"

"What's the problem, whos in charge here?"

"That would be me." A tall young man, with brown hair and a beard, looking to be in his mid to late 20's appeared. The name patch on his chest read "Lieutenant Towers."

"Well, Lieutenant Towers, what's the fucking problem?" I tried being nice, but my anger was boiling through the roof, and I felt the chaos power coursing through my veins. I glanced over and saw the professor trying to tell me to calm down, he knew better than anybody I can't control my anger.

"To be quite blunt with you Shadow, you're the problem. Did the good professor ever tell you why you were created?" He sat down in a chair in front of me, the agents still had their guns aimed on me.

"Of course… I was created to protect Maria." I studied the man in front of me, he had a sinister smirk. He looked over to a guard who had been standing by the door and nodded towards him. After a moment, the guard returned with Maria in hand.

I was suddenly sent to my knees, I was being shocked, I could feel my power and energy leave my body. The shocking stopped, and I couldn't even stand. I felt myself being dragged towards a pod.

"Leave him in there until we're done, then we'll take him to Earth." Towers commanded his agents. He then took Maria by the arm and placed his silver magnum to her head.

"Towers what the hell-" the professor spoke up but was hit by one of the agents. The agent then placed him in cuffs and carried him out of the room.

"Now that I have your attention hedgehog, let's get one thing straight. You were created as a weapon for the US military, not for some fucking little girl."

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH" I beat the glass on the pod, though my energy was almost non existent, I couldn't let him hurt Maria.

"Shadow… just listen to him, I don't want him to hurt you."

"Maria-" I started to speak.

"Shadow please,just be quiet and if they send you down there, help people, please do it for me if not for the greater good." She interrupted.

I didn't say anything, I just laid back against the pod and fixed my eyes on the Lieutenant. He released Maria and placed the magnum back in the holster.

"I don't wanna hurt either of you, I want you to submit and come back to Earth with me, and I-"

He was cut off by Maria darting towards the wall and pulling the handle to release me into space.

"MARIA!" I tried to stand up, but before I had time to react, a shot echoed the air. I found myself slowly falling into space, as I looked up, I saw the Lieutenant's gun smoking, and Maria laid out on the floor. I felt a tear roll down my face… and before I knew it, I felt myself starting to pass out.

-A few hours later.

A news reporter was seen in front of The White House, with a large crowd behind her. She wore a black dress, had long red hair, and had bright green eyes.

"I'm Diane, and I'm standing outside The White House with breaking news! Let's take a live look at what's going on behind me."

The president was seen on stage with Lieutenant.

"Good evening, today I bring you some tragic news… one of our secret facilities was attacked today, by a black and red hedgehog who goes by the name Shadow the Hedgehog. This man standing next to me saved his agents and killed the black hedgehog, so though we lost many lives of brave scientists, I must recognize the bravery of this man next to me, I'll be personally promoting him from Lieutenant to Commander."

The crowd responded with a round of applause.

The commander then took the mic stand.

"Hello everyone, I just wanted to make something very clear… while I'm commanding GUN, we won't have to worry about terrorists such as Shadow. I will work tirelessly to keep you all safe! Together, we will transform and create a better tomorrow!"

-50 years later-

A robotic voice shook me out of a deep sleep.

"Cryogenic slumber offline, system damaged. Awaken the test subject."

 _Where the fuck am I?_ I sat and noticed the ice on the glass melting, and I felt the cool air hit me as the pod opened up. The sky was bright blue, the sun was beaming down on me as I struggled to crawl out of the pod. I found myself deep in what appeared to be some sort of forest. I saw my reflection off the glass of the pod. _Jeez I look like shit, I need to get cleaned up._ I walked off and eventually found myself in a clearing, there was nothing but grass and some animals around, there was also a small watering hole where the animals were drinking from. _That'll have to do._ I skate over and jump right into the water, it wasn't the cleanest water, but I was definitely cleaner than I was before. I climbed out and shook the water off my fur, then sat down and relaxed for a moment. _Is this Earth? How long have I been asleep? And where's all the damn humans? More importantly… how did I get here?_

I shook myself from my thoughts and began walking off towards these huge buildings. I knew because this girl showed me a long time ago…. _this girl? Who was she? No matter, I have to learn more about this planet._

After walking for what felt like forever, I finally arrived at one of the buildings, the sign read "best pancakes in town." _The fuck is this?_ I walked in and noticed people eating food I'd never seen before. I walked up to this young girl who was wearing a silly outfit.

"Hello sir how may I help you?"

I didn't really know how to respond. "Uhhh yeah, I saw a sign outside that said best pancakes in town, what're pancakes?" Based off her response, she must've thought I was joking.

"Hahahaha, you're funny! You must be here to try the pancake challenge?"

My ears perked up at that word, challenge. I loved a good challenge.

"Why yes, of course. What does it require?"

"Well sir, if you can eat 50 pancakes, you won't have to pay for them, on top of that you'll get free pancakes for life!"

 _Well I can't die, at least I'll have an unlimited supply of food on this planet._ "Consider it done."

After about 15 minutes, she returned with a huge plate with these flat objects on top, she also handed me a bottle "Syrup, okay!" I had no clue what it was, but the picture on the bottle showed a woman pouring it onto these pancake things, so I copied her. I began devouring the pancakes, and I was starting to gather attention. The girl who served me had her phone out recording me, after a moment I swallowed the last pancake. Her eyes were huge as she sat across the table from me.

"Holy shit! You must be hungry, only one other person has ever ate all 50, and it took them close to an hour, it took you less than 5 minutes!"

I glared at her shocked expression before replying. "Well, I'm the ultimate life form, nobody can outdo me in anything."

"Jeez you sure are cocky mister, hey, you don't happen to be related to Sonic do you?"

"Please stop calling me sir and mister, my names Shadow… and no, I no nobody named Sonic." Judging by her expression, what I was saying was almost as shocking as me eating those pancakes that fast.

"It's not everyday a talking hedgehog shows up, in fact you're the third one I've met, Sonic and Amy being the other two!"

"Sonic and Amy, can you show me these two?"

She pulled out her phone and showed me a video of a blue hedgehog and a pink hedgehog fighting robots.

"Hmph, he's slow." I merely replied as I glanced back up at her, I noticed her name tag read 'Jessica.'

"Jessica, if you don't mind me asking, what year is it?" again, judging by her expression she must think I'm crazy.

"Um, 2018? Why, are you a time traveler or something?" she said with a chuckle.

"No, I've been asleep for 50 years, that's all. I'm also on a foreign planet. I need to learn more, do you think you could help me? Or do you know someone who could help me?"

She was clearly pondering what she should do. "I can try, but if I can't help I know Sonic can for sure!"

I huffed. "I rather not meet him right now, he will only get in my way. So, where can we discuss this?"

She stood and pointed at the clock hanging from the wall. "I get off work in a hour, then we can go to my apartment."

 _Apartment? What's that?_ Instead of asking more questions, I nodded in agreement as she went back to work, while I laid back and found myself falling asleep at the table.

I hadn't had time to fully fall asleep before something forced me to open my eyes, I heard Jessica call out for me.

"Shadow, there's some people I'd like you to meet!"

I sat up and glared over to find a white bat, a purple cat, and a red echidna. The white bat wore a tight black bodysuit with white boots, white gloves and a pink heart over her chest, while the purple cat wore a yellow t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and some yellow high top sneakers. The echidna wore a white collared shirt with tan pants and brown dress shoes. They walked over and sat across from me, then Jessica sat down next to me.

"This is Rouge, Knuckles, and Blaze. They're kinda like you, except I don't think anyone has the ability to eat like you!"

"Pfft, nobody's like me." I replied quickly, examining the three in front of me. The echidna kept sending me harsh looks, while the white bat couldn't seem to take her eyes off me, and the cat, well she was looking at her phone.

"So, can these people help me?" I glanced over to Jessica. She nodded in response.

"Like you, they just showed up out of the blue one day, and they've been here ever since."

"I see, you, bat, what was your name again?" I studied her closely, she seemed like trouble, yet she wasn't the one that answered me, it was Knuckles.

"Her name is Rouge jackass, listen babe, if this guy gives you trouble let me know, I'm gonna go sit with the master emerald." he got up and kissed the bat, then walked out.

"Sorry about that sweetie, he gets grumpy when there's other men around." Rouge placed her hand around Blaze, who had finally taken her eyes off the phone, locking eyes with me. Her yellow eyes glowed in the light. My appearance must've been doing its job, she appeared shaken up. In fact, everyone I had met so far had seemed scared of me, even Jessica had that look of question and fear. _I need to use this to my advantage._

"So, Rouge and Blaze, tell me, what brought you guys here, and why'd you stay?"

After a long sigh from the bat, she spoke out "Well me and Blaze didn't come onto the planet at the same time, in fact Blaze has never told anyone how she got here. Me on the other hand, I showed up when Sonic caused Chaos Control back on our home planet, sending all of us to Earth. We tend to turn lots of heads down here, I must say though, none of us look quite like you."

I shot my glance over to Blaze. "And you, what about you?"

She responded with an annoyed look. "Listen, hedgehog, I don't know who the hell you are, but I don't trust you, don't take it personal but I'm not telling you shit about me until I get to know you better. Rouge, I gotta work, text me if you wanna hang out later. Cya around Jessica." as the cat stood to walk away, I grabbed her hand and sent her a sharp look. "The names Shadow." I released her and glared back towards the bat. "Shadow huh? The name suits you!" she said with a chuckle. I wanted to ask her what's so funny, but my thoughts were interrupted by Jessica.

"I got to work a little longer, you two chat for a bit, Rouge can I get you anything?"

"I'm okay, thanks though."

As Jessica left, me and the bat me eyes. Unlike the cat, she had greenish blueish eyes. Again, my eyes were doing their part, because I could tell she was uncomfortable.

"So Rouge, what do you do here?"

She sat back and rubbed her chin, then responded "Well Shadow, I'm a part time jewel thief, full time agent for GUN."

The words sent pain through my head. _GUN? Why did it sound so familiar, and why did it hurt so bad._

She must've noticed my pain, because she called me out on it.

"Shadow, you okay?"

"I'm fine, what's this GUN you speak of?"

"Wow you're really not from around here are you? Well GUN is kinda like the CIA, or MI6. We work for our government and do what's necessary."

I nodded in return. I see, now if you don't mind me asking, who should I worry about on this planet? Anyone I shouldn't trust?" She smirked in response, I knew this was gonna be interesting.

"Well, if you were to ask just anyone on this planet, Dr. Eggman would be the main concern, but ask anyone like us? After Eggman, they'd say me. I'm a master manipulator, and I _always_ get what I want."

I didn't like her tone, she sounded like she was trying to play games. "This Eggman, how smart is he?"

"Well he's actually very smart, he just has trouble putting anything together and keeping a solid plan. Why do you ask?"

"No offense, but I need someone very smart, with access to things to help me figure out why I'm here." Based by her facial expression, she hadn't liked what she heard.

"First of all, I'm actually very intelligent and have access to all of GUNS secret files, and secondly, what do you mean to figure out why you're here?"

"Rouge, you don't have to believe me when I say this, but I've been asleep for over 50 years, I don't know how I got here, or where I came from. I don't even remember much about myself, only bits and pieces, do you think you could help me get access to those files?"

"And lose my job over it? HAHA, are you crazy? I just met you, I'm not risking my job over you, let alone someone so rude." she scoffed

"Hmph, be gone then, I don't need you anyway, I'm the ultimate life form A mortal bat like yourself wouldn't do anything but get in my way.."

She laughed in response as she stood up to walk out. "You're funny Shad, I'll see you around, I'm sure of it." she said with a wink, then left.

 _Shad? What the hell was that all about?_

I shifted my gaze over to Jessica, who was taking off her apron.

"Ready Shadow?" She pointed towards the door. I nodded and stood. "Lead the way." I followed her for a while down the busy streets, she remained silent most of the way, until we were forced to stop due to busy traffic. She was the one that broke the silence.

"Shadow, why were you so mean to Rouge and Blaze?" She wouldn't look me in the eyes, I clearly intimidated her.

"I don't know them, and I'm not exactly the nicest guy you'll ever meet." I watched her face change, she seemed uneasy. "Listen Jessica, if you're too scared then you don't have to help me. I can figure this shit out on my own."

At first she didn't reply as we finally began to walk again, then she suddenly pulled me aside to a set of stairs leading up to a tall building. We entered the lobby, then climbed tons of stairs. Finally we arrived at a doorway.

"I assume this is your home?" I asked as she unlocked the door.

"Yes, I've been living here since I moved out of my parents place. I find it cozy." She opened up the door and waved me in. Once I entered the lights came on automatically, I was greeted by a small dog licking my leg.

"Hey baby! Mommies home!" Jessica yelled out loud. She ran over and picked up the small dog, he was brown with white spots.

"I had no clue you had a dog." I said dryly. She looked over at me with a not so amused face.

"Are you allergic or something?" She showed some concern, while I simply laughed it off.

"I know we've just met, but I don't get sick. I'm immortal, I don't age. My power is unmatched, Jessica."

She nodded and put the dog down. "Have a seat on the couch and let's talk."

I obeyed, she sat next to me and turned on the TV, the news was on, talking about Eggman and that Sonic guy. _I feel like he's gonna be a problem._

"So Shadow, what is it that you need help with?" Jessica asked me, laying out on the couch.

"Well, I need to learn some things, have you ever heard of GUN?"

My words made her pick her head up. "Of course I have, why?"

I sat in silence for a minute. "Well, I don't remember why, but I know they've done something to me in the past. I don't remember when it happened or where, but I'd like to know more about them."

She sat up and pulled out a slim device from under her table, she opened it then slid it over to me.

"Use my laptop, just type GUN and it'll take you to their website."

"It's that easy?" I looked at her blankly, yet she responded with a laugh.

"Of course, it's called the internet. You'll get used to these kinda things the longer you're here. It makes life easier, if you ever have a question, look it up. It's not always accurate though."

I nodded and began searching this so called internet. I found the site I needed, then began absorbing as much information as I could. It felt like it had only been minutes, but I glanced down and noticed it was 4 in the morning. I looked over to find Jessica and her dog asleep on the couch next to me, I quietly crept out and onto the balcony, where I explored for close to an hour longer, then I decided to sit and reflect on everything that had happened.

 _So, this guy named Commander Towers, who sounds awfully familiar for some reason, is the leader of GUN. They run private security and are rumored to have the best spies in the world. Though I looked myself up, there was nothing anywhere about me being created. I need to clear my head._

I placed the laptop back on the table, then turned and jumped off the balcony, climbing up towards the roof to get away for a bit.

* _MEANWHILE AT GUN HEADQUARTERS*_

"Commander Towers sir, a blacklisted phrase has been entered onto a laptop in the downtown Westopolis. How would you like to act?" A female agent asked.

"Agent Topaz, tell me what the phrase was if you don't mind." He spun around in his chair, he was wearing a navy blue uniform, he had grey hair, and a grey beard. Topaz on the other hand wore a black field outfit, equipped with a bulletproof vest and flash grenades. They both wore black combat boots.

"The term, well, the term was "Shadow the Hedgehog sir."

The commander's face turned from concern to frightened.

"Normally I wouldn't let something such as an internet search bother me, but that comes from a forgotten project from over 50 years ago. It's Project Shadow, bring me all you can find from the archives. I'll take agent Rouge to go investigate the matter personally."

"Yes sir, right away."

As Topaz left, the commander grabbed his phone and dialed Rouge instantly. She answered with a groggy voice.

"Commander, it's 5am, is the world ending or something?"

"Agent Rouge, I'll text you an address, I need you to meet me there. I'll explain when we meet up."

"Ugh, yes sir. I'll be there as soon as possible."

The two got off the phone and prepared to investigate the owner of the laptop.

 _Well there's chapter 1 in the books, I hope you all enjoyed, I wrote this between chapters on my other stories when I got writer's block. I intend to make this into a series, but being a college student comes with the challenges of finding free time between the balance of studying and my personal life, with all that being said, if you enjoyed, feel free to follow the story for updates, I don't have a set schedule for this story yet, since I'm finishing up my other story Fugitive right now. If you're reading this around the time it goes up, then I hope you guys all have and fun and safe Thanksgiving holiday!_


	2. Chapter 2 - Partnerships

_Quick note guys, I typed this chapter on my phone, so if there is any spelling errors I do apologize, I will be back on my PC for CH3!_

*Jessica's POV*

I was awakened by the loud knocking coming from the door. I sat up and looked around blankly for a moment, trying to gather myself, then the banging continued.

"Jesus I'm coming, I'm coming calm down."

I stood and walked over to the door, opening it to find a Rouge and a tall, older man with her. They both wore GUN uniforms.

"Hey Rouge, anddddd (I glance at his tag) Commander Towers, what's going on?"

Rouge looked at me worryingly, I couldn't imagine what this was all about. Then it hit me, _Shadow._ He was nowhere to be found when I woke up, he was snooping online for GUN info, maybe he saw something he shouldn't have…

"Hey Jessica, the commander just has a few questions for you. Mind if we come in?" Rouge asked in an upbeat, yet careful tone.

Reluctantly, I let them in, if they knew something already why fight it?

"Please make yourselves at home, and ignore Bongo, he won't bite."

"I gotta say, you've got a nice apartment kid." Rouge said examining some pictures on the wall. The commander was already sat down, tapping his foot anxiously. I sat in the chair across from him.

"Well commander I'm all ears!"

"Jessica, is it? I got word that a certain phrase was entered into a laptop that came from this location, know anything about that?"

I gulped nervously, I saw Rouge glancing at the computer on the table.

"Well, um, in all honesty, yes and no."

"Care to explain?" he said impatiently.

"Well, you see sir, yesterday at work, this hedgehog came into my place of work, claiming he didn't know what a pancake was! He was Sonics size, yet he wasn't anything like Sonic… he was way more intimidating. He had these crimson red eyes, this deep, emotionless voice, he wore a black jacket, black jeans, and these hover shoes. Oh oh, and he wore these white gloves with these shiny golden acted as if he had traveled through time or been asleep for a long time."

"I see, what happened next?"

"He ate 50 pancakes in like 6 minutes, no bullshit. Then we talked for a while and I found out he wasn't lying about being asleep for almost 50 years. He was so confused by everything, so I told him he could stay with me and I'd help him learn. Last night when we got here, he asked me about GUN, when I asked why, he said something about GUN doing something to him in the past. I let him use my laptop to look you guys up, he doesn't know much on how to use the internet yet though."

He nodded, taking notes as I had been talking.

"Where is this hedgehog now, and did he give you his name?"

"Why yes, his name is Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog. And honestly, I woke up and he wasn't here, I hope he didn't get lost, poor little fella, why, is he in trouble?"

The commander let out a deep sigh and looked over at Rouge, who had her arms crossed and was listening in.

"You see Jessica, it's not that he's in trouble, it's that he is trouble. 50 years ago he went on a killing spree on this secret space lab called Space Colony ARK. He killed my best scientist and his daughter. He's evil, Jessica. If he comes back, give Rouge here a call, Rouge, let's go."

" _Rouge, I need you to find this hedgehog. Do whatever you need, you'll be paid well for your troubles."_ I heard the commander whisper as they walked out.

I was in such shock. Shadow had seemed kinda tense, but he was a cold blooded killer? _Fuck Jessica, what're you getting yourself into this time?_

Meanwhile, on Eggman Island.(Shadows POV)

I found myself on what appeared to be a deserted island. The sun was blaring and it was hot as hell outside. I decided the jacket I had on was unnecessary. I hated wearing clothes, but Jessica told me it was "inappropriate" to walk around without them. _Hm, this planet isn't what I pictured it to be. Humans wearing clothes, others like me wearing clothes? How come I wasn't wearing any when I woke up?_ Suddenly, images of a blond haired girl started to flash in his head.

 _ **Shadow, remember what you promised me!**_

I fell to my knees in pain, my head throbbing. I sat there for a moment before deciding I should rest. _Am I hallucinating or was that shit real? Who was that girl, and what the hell kinda promise is she talking about?_ I found a cliff to sit on, looking out over a waterfall. Everything was peaceful, the sound of the water flowing and birds chirping was a true change of scenery after being in that city. _For some reason, I pictured Earth to be… different. I didn't expect to find others like me. I wonder if I'm stuck here, or if I'll find my way back home._ The word echoed through my head. _Home… where am I from?_ I glanced around for a moment, realizing I still had no idea where I came from. _Do I have a home? Is this home?_ I finally stood and decided I shouldn't ask questions that have no direct answer. I began walking for a while, pondering why I had little to no memory of anything that happened before I woke up. I also admired the quiet. I was walking for no more than five minutes when I came across something awfully peculier. There was a large metal gate out in the middle of the tiny forest on the island. There was some sort of symbol on the door. _Is that a face with a mustache? Why does that look so familiar?_

I was suddenly hit with another set of images flashing through my head. One showed a older man in a white lab coat. He had a white mustache and glasses, next to him stood that blond girl…

 _ **Maria, go get Shadow please sweetie, we have to run more tests on him.**_

When I snapped out of it, I found myself face down in the sand. When I picked myself up, I noticed blood in the sand, I looked down and noticed blood rolling off my chest. Come to find out, my nose was bleeding.

 _So that girl… Maria. Why does her face keep showing up, why does her name haunt me?_

Suddenly a loud voice came from a speaker on the gate.

"My oh my Sonic, I never expected you this early, you do have to apologize but I'm in no shape to fight you at the moment, come back later."

I sat there pondering if the man was even worth responding to, but my pride to over.

"I'm not blue you buffoon, and I guarantee I'm much more of a challenge than this Sonic you speak of." I anxiously waited a response, much to my surprise, the gate flung open and a large man appeared in some sort of hovercraft. He too had glasses and a mustache, yet his was orange, not white. I assumed he must be impersonating the man I saw in my head.

"Ah I see, you're not Sonic at all are you? You don't happen to be on his side do you?" The strange man asked with a wicked grin. He wore a red coat. I couldn't see much else sense he was in the craft.

"On his side? I'm not a child, I don't pick sides, I just destroy whoever's in my way." I responded coldly. For the first time, someone looked at me and didn't look afraid. Instead, he looked thrilled. _This guy must be bonkers._

"AAAHAHAHAHA! YES, FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH THE SAME MENTALITY AS ME. Say, would you like to come inside and discuss business?" He landed his hovercraft and hopped out. He was abnormal to say the least. He had the skinniest legs I had ever seen, yet his top was large to say the least. He wore black pants along with the red coat, and he wore long black shoes.

"Sure, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh where are my manners, I'm Ivo Robotnik, but the people of this planet call me _Dr. Eggman!_ "

I studied the man for a moment, _Eggman huh. This is the man Rouge, Blaze and Jessica spoke of. Let's see what he's all about._

"Yeah, I've heard of you. I'm Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog. Let's talk business doc."

He allowed me to climb into the hovercraft with him, and he flew off into the hidden base.

Once we arrived at what appeared to be some sort of control room, he landed and began to type on his huge computer.

"Shadow huh, you don't happen to be the same Shadow created by my grandfather Gerald Robotnik?"

I felt the headache again. _First this Maria girl now this man, Gerald. I knew them somehow… but how._

"Doctor, I'm going to be bluntly honest with you. The name sounds familiar, but I don't remember shit since I woke up yesterday. I've been asleep in some sort of chamber for 50 years. When I woke up I was here, with no memory of how I got here or anything." I can tell my words were doing wonders for this man, his grin grew by the minute.

"Well Shadow I must say, you sure sound like the same hedgehog my grandfather created. If you'd like, I can help fill in some of those blanks in your head, but first you'll have to help me. Ever seen one of these before?" The fat man pulled out a chaos emerald. It glowed Blue.

"In fact, yes. It's a chaos emerald, I can sense their energy when I get close to one." Studying by his reaction, the fat man liked what he was hearing. He was practically jumping out of his shoes.

"AH YES, Shadow, you're just the hedgehog I'm looking for, what do ya say, help me find the remaining emeralds, for each emerald you bring me, I'll give you pieces of your memory."

 _If i wanted, I'd beat the everlasting shit out of you and get my memories back on my own, but since he seems so eager, I guess I'll indulge him._

"Let's get to work doctor." I said, folding my arms and waiting for instruction.

Meanwhile…

GUN HEADQUARTERS (ROUGE POV)

After hours of nothing but dead ends searching for this hedgehog, I finally returned to the GUN HQ. I was greeted by Topaz with a strange look on her face.

"Rouge… you need to see this." she sounded like she was ready to cry. I quickly followed her to a back archive room. She pointed to the table, hundreds of papers lie there, all involving the hedgehog.

"He took down an entire space colony. This hedgehog means business, you really need to be careful Rouge."

"Topaz, I have an idea, but promise you'll keep it between us, okay?"

With a simple nod from her, I continued "I met Shadow before I realized he was who he was, at the diner. He asked me for help, which I obviously declined, but I'm starting to think when I find him I should offer to help, and manipulate him to get him arrested. What do you think?"

She responded with a smirk and a slight nod "Yeah Rouge, that sounds like a plan. Let's get you prepared, you've got quite the mission on your hands.

*Shadows POV*

I glanced out over the city, the sun had gone down and the blazing heat turned into a slight chill. I sat in silence for a long while before the communicator on my wrist broke the silence.

"Shadow, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear doctor, did you find the location of an emerald?"

"Yes indeed, you're on the building I told you to wait on correct?"

I rolled my eyes in response. "Yes doctor."

"Good, okay, head west two blocks and you'll come across a very tall building, the sign will read _Hotel Westopolis._ Once you arrive, let me know."

"Will do." With that, I dashed down the side of the building, traveling at max speed, I was there in 30 seconds flat. "Okay doctor, what now?"

"DAMN! You're there already? I've barely had time to sit down, BAHAHAA. Okay, head inside and head to the check in desk. There will be a man or woman there, asking for your name. Tell them your name is Sonic the Hedgehog. Trust me, we will both benefit from this."

I didn't wanna pretend to be someone I'm not, I alone was the strongest life form ever created, but I didn't wanna test the doctor just yet. I followed his orders. I walked in, the lobby was lit by a gold tiled floor and bright lights hanging from the ceiling. The woman at the desk smiled as I approached.

"Do you have a reservation mister?" she greeted me with a big smile.

"Why yes, it's should be under Sha- Sonic! Sonic the hedgehog." _Damn that was close._

"I knew you looked familiar! Sorry I even had to ask Sonic, here's your room key, please enjoy your stay!"

I walked off without saying another word. _Were all humans this dumb? How had the doctor not conquered them all yet?_ I entered this thing, the doctor told me it was called an elevator. Whatever it was, it moved way faster than stairs.

"Doctor, I'm in the elevator, what's next?"

"Great job Shadow, now all you have to do is enter the room and wait for my command, it may be and hour or two so get comfortable, but stay alert. When I give you the word, we will have a very small window of time to get the emerald before it gets locked away again."

"Will do doc."

I entered my room, it was quite nice actually. There was a good view over the city, a very large bed, a bar with all sorts of drinks, and a mini fridge. I sat on the bed and turned on the TV, trying to figure out how to change the channels. I eventually figured it out, then found this thing called basketball. It was just a bunching of humans bouncing and throwing a ball into a hoop. I was amazed people found this entertaining. The next channel showed people kicking a ball around to each other, they called it soccer. I realized then that humans were nothing like me, they found amusement in such little things. I eventually found something that caught my interest, some channel called the food network. I was very curious to learn what humans ate. The lady on the TV was making something called a pizza. I had no clue what it was, but it looked good. I was brought out of my trance from the TV when there was a knock on the door.

I quickly called the doctor to see if this was planned.

"Eggman, someone's knocking on the door, what should I do?"

"Well, ignore it, if the knocking keeps happening answer the door and act natural. Send them off if need be, just try not to attract too much attention."

After a moment, another knock came.

I walked over and opened the door, expecting some sort of fangirl at the door, yet I was greeted by something completely different. A rose, pink colored hedgehog with a large hammer stood waiting at the door. She tried to look tough, but my appearance clearly threw her off.

"What do you want?" I said in the same emotionless voice I always had.

"You're… you're not Sonic, who are you?"

I grabbed her and quickly pulled her into the room with me, then I placed my hand over her mouth and tossed the hammer onto the bed.

"Why the hell are you snooping around looking for Sonic, I thought you and him were friends." I knew who she was, I recognized her from the video Jessica showed me.

"mrrrr mrrrrrrmmrmrrmrr"

I realized I should remove my hand before I ask questions.

"Scream when I move my hand and I promise I'll remove your head from the rest of your body."

With a nervous glare in her eyes, she slowly nodded.

"Me and Sonic are friends, but… well I like him more than that. Now who the hell are you?"

"Who I am is of no importance, you're not leaving though. Sit and don't cause me trouble, or I'll tie you up and leave you in the closet." I sat her down on the bed, taking the hammer and placing it in the bathroom. When I returned, she was laid out watching the food channel.

"Not that I like to judge people off their appearance, but you seem like more of a sports guy than a chef." She said with a giggle.

"Enough talking. Sit and be quiet, I have to make a call."

"Doctor, Amy the hedgehog, Sonic's friend, was at the door. I took her hammer and I'm keeping her captive until you give me the go ahead to move on our plan." I was careful with my words so I wouldn't spoil our plan.

"Good thinking Shadow, it'll probably be another 30 minutes before we can move, stand by."

I noticed the call had gotten the attention of the pink hedgehog.

"Shadow huh?" she said with a smirk.

"Silence, before I make you silent."

"Oh come on you wouldn't hit a-"

I cut her off by knocking her out cold with one punch. I threw her over my shoulder and carried her to the closet, tied her up and left her there.

 _I warned her, dumbass._

"Shadow, it's time. Let's get a move on, get into the elevator and head to the top floor, once you get there you'll have a two minute window to take down the guards and grab the emerald before the cameras turn back on."

"Moving doctor, we will talk soon."

I dashed out and into the elevator. After a moment, the ding rang throughout the air and the doors opened. There stood 5 guards with assault rifles, sitting around another guard pushing a cart with the emerald on it. I instantly aimed and shot out the cameras with a chaos spear, just in case. Then I turned my attention towards the guards.

"Holy Shit what is that thing? FIRE!"

A barrage of bullets flew through the air. I dodged as fast as my feet would let me, after a few seconds they stopped to reload.

"Pathetic humans, you'll die for opposing me! CHAOS SPEAR!" I shot and got a direct hit on three of the five, the other two were left wounded from the blast. As I walked over, I stepped on and broke the neck of one of the guards, then I picked up the last guard by the throat.

"Remember my face, and tell people what you saw here today. Tell them how evil Sonic truly is." I dropped him and grabbed the emerald, then decided to make myself scarce.

"Chaos control now!"

With a flash, I found myself back with the doctor. I left him visibly startled, he clearly had no idea I could teleport.

"Damn Shadow don't scare me like that! You could've gave me a heart attack!" he replied between breaths.

"Sorry doc, here." I tossed him the green emerald, just for him to toss it back.

"Whatever you did to get here so fast, it took the emerald right? Keep it on you, and when we get the rest you can hand it over then."

"Will do doctor, now, about my memories." I walked over and sat in the chair next to him, studying his expression. He almost looked shocked that I brought it up.

"Oh right, of course. Let's see here…" he began typing away, and after a moment the words Project Shadow" appears on the screen, requiring a user and password.

"Blasted Gerald, give me some time to think Shadow, I'll come to you right away when I figure out the information required. Why don't you lay low for a bit instead of going out? We don't want you getting in trouble now do we?"

I simply walked out, leaving him to do whatever the hell he needed to do. I walked down the long hallway until I met a staircase, I climbed them and found myself on the roof. It was still dark, but it had to be early morning. The air was still crisp, yet I could tell that it slowly began to warm up. I decided to nap for a while to rest up. I lied down, back against the concrete wall, and glanced out towards the ocean. I'd never seen anything like it, from what I can remember at least. _This planet would be nice if there weren't so many damn humans here. Hm, I wonder how Jessica is doing? I didn't tell her I was leaving… no matter, I'm sure she's fine._ I was brought back to reality by the sudden sound of wings flapping. I laid still, my eyes were still closed, yet my ears were perked up, laser focused. The flapping stopped, and everything fell silent for a moment. I wondered if I had been imagining the noises, then I heard the sound of clicking as someone walked towards me. I was forced to open my eyes when I felt a tug on my jacket.

"Shadow, don't ya know it's dangerous to sit on the edge of a roof like this?"

I opened my eyes to find the bat, Rouge, standing next to me. I simply ignored her, closing my eyes and trying to focus on something else. She made it extremely difficult though, she sat next to me and poked my chest, once, twice, and I felt her move for a third try, but I quickly grabbed her hand and opened my eyes once more.

"Do you mind?" I barked harshly.

"Ouch, someone's a little sensitive about his chest." she giggled, attempting to pull her hand away, but I wouldn't release it.

"What brings you here bat? The doctor has no business with GUN."

"Oh sweetie you have no idea, me and Eggman go way back. In fact I used to work for him, and since GUN found out that I talked to you, they fired me! Can you believe that? Just for talking to you, they fired me. Anyways, I came to see if Eggman would help me get revenge on them, then I saw you up here. I assume you're working for him now?" She seemed more relaxed now that we were in a flowing conversation, she didn't look as nervous as last time me and her talked.

"No."

"No..? Then what're you doing here?"

I finally turned my glance towards her, her eyes darted away as soon as I glanced over.

"Were you staring at me?" I let out the slightest of a chuckle.

She now turned her entire head away from me so I could no longer see her face. "Of course not! Now stop dodging the question Shadow, what're you doing here if you don't work for Eggman?"

I stood and forced her to look into my eyes "Why are you interrogating me? Remember when you said you didn't wanna help, plus I apparently got you fired? The real question is what're you doing here, bat?"

Her eyes danced around nervously as I finished speaking, I could tell I stuck a nerve with her. "Shadow, I told you I'm here to ask Eggman for a job, I just happened to run into you. I kinda felt bad about how we left talking, I know we don't really know each other but it seems you've had a rough time. Let me help you." she attempted to place a hand on my shoulder, but I quickly shook her off.

"Listen, I don't know and I don't care why you're here. I don't care if the doctor lets you stay or tells you to fuck off, just stay out of my damn way, got it?" I glared deeply at her before sitting back down, my blood was boiling. _Control your anger Shadow, don't let some bat make you flip your shit._

Rouge walked away without saying another word, she headed down towards Eggman.

 _That wasn't weird at all._ I joked to myself, then glanced back out over the ocean. The sun began to break over the horizon. _So much for taking a nap, damn that bat._ I stood from the ledge and pulled out the chaos emerald I carried.

"Chaos control now!"

After the bright flash died down, I found myself deep in the heart of the city. I noticed I was next to the diner again. _I must be hungry if it teleport me here of all places._ I walked inside and saw a picture of me on the wall.

*Wanted - Shadow the Hedgehog.*

$50,000 dead

$200,000 alive

$10,000 for information on the hedgehog.

Call the GUN hotline with any tips.

 _Hmph, guess I should make myself scarce._ I turned to walk back out the door, but was stopped in my tracks by a familiar voice.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, don't you dare walk out that door!"

That was once voice I recognized, it had to be Jessica.

I turned and was met with a hard slap to the face. I staggered and gathered myself before I spoke.

"What the hell was that for?!" I yelled at her, she was in tears.

"You're a no good liar Shadow, you're a murderer." her voice cracked as she spoke, then she quickly ran and sat down at a booth. People were staring and recording what was happening on their phones.

"Dammit Jessica!" I ran over and grabbed her with one hand, then held the emerald with the other.

"Chaos control!"

We appeared in her apartment. She was walking kinda funny, I figured she was dizzy from never teleporting before. I grabbed her and guided her to the couch, sitting her down and sitting on the table in front of her.

"What makes you think I'm a murderer?" I asked, wondering if she knew I killed them men to get the chaos emerald.

"The GUN commander came to my house and asked me all these questions! All about you, and why you were here and where were you now? Rouge was here too!" Tears were flowing like a waterfall from the poor girl's eyes.

"Mhm, Rouge was here too huh? I knew something was fishy about her. What did the GUN commander say about me?"

She was crying so much she couldn't even speak. I could care less why she was crying, but to get her to shut up and calm down, I handed her the tissue box off the table.

"Thank you." She said between sobs, she wiped her tears and blew her nose, then she gathered herself and began to speak.

"He told me you killed hundreds of scientists. Including the main one and his daughter. It was on some type of space colony? The Ark is what he called it. That's all he said. and he told me to call Rouge if you showed back up."

Suddenly something clicked in my head, what she was telling me was wrong… I felt the memories begin to flash throughout my head. I saw Maria, I remembered Maria, I remembered the professor. I remembered the man…. Lieutenant Towers. My skin crawled and my stomach turned as I put two and two together. Not everything was clear to me yet, but something was wrong about all this.

"Jessica, I can't let you turn me in. Don't take this personal, but you're coming with me."

"WAIT!" she screamed as I lifted the emerald. I glanced down at her and waited for her to speak.

"Can I bring my dog with me?"

"I don't care just hurry up."

She ran and grabbed the small dog, then grabbed my hand. "Okay I'm ready now."

"Chaos control."

We appeared in the control room of Eggman's base, Rouge and Eggman were sat at a table when we appeared.

"Holy shit, he can cause chaos control?" Rouge dropped her glass of water on the floor, her jaw practically touched the floor too. Eggman on the other hand just laughed, he seemed amused by my entrance. He frowned when he saw I had a girl with me.

"Shadow, if you're gonna do something with her, keep it off the ship."

I sent him a disgusted look. "No doctor, she knows who I am, she's gonna stay here until we work all this shit out." I quickly pointed towards Rouge. "You and I need to have a chat, bat." I turned and walked out of the room, heading towards the roof. Shortly after, Rouge showed herself.

"What is it Mr. bossy pants?" she joked, yet I didn't find it funny.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her straight into a punch. Quickly, I tied her wings together so she couldn't fly off, then I dragged her and dangled her over the side of the roof.

"Alright bat, listen closely or I promise you I'll drop you. I know you're still working for GUN, so why're you really here? To spy on me? On Eggman?"

She didn't answer at first, then I let her slip a little to scare her into talking. "SHIT SHIT OKAY, look, the commander told me you were a Class A threat. I was told to manipulate you and bring you in to him, that's it I swear."

I wanted to drop her then and there, but something told me she'd be more useful than meets the eye. I pulled her back and sat her down next to me, then continued asking my questions.

"Commander Towers, what's he like?" I untied her wings, trying to show some trust. This didn't come lightly. She knew not to test me after what I'd just done, she was smart enough to go along with me.

"He's a douche, but he pays me, so I do whatever is necessary."

I was about to speak, when Eggman burst onto the roof. "Shadow, thank god, I got into the files, and it's worse than I thought, come quickly."

I glanced down at Rouge before leaving. "Listen, this isn't over. Stay out if you know what's good for you."

She simply nodded and stayed seated, while I dashed off towards the doctor. Once I entered the control room, I noticed there was video playing on the screen. Everything came back to me. The commander holding the gun to Maria's head, the agents beating the professor… then the video was cut short as Maria pulled a lever, I assumed what happened next was her dying. Then something else hit me.

 _ **Shadow, promise me you'll make them pay! All of them!**_

I felt my blood boil, I was clearly scaring the doctor, he was stepping backwards, staring wildly at me. A red mist was flowing off my fur, I felt the chaos energy deep inside me ready to explode.

It took a moment, but I finally calmed down. I glanced back over to the doctor and spoke carefully. "I'm sorry about that doctor, I can't control my anger… everything just came back to me all at once… I want revenge… I _need_ revenge."

Eggman's concerned look turned into a wicked smile.

"AH YES SHADOW YES! LETS MAKE THEM ALL PAY!" He ran over and sat in the chair, pointing for me to sit next to him. I did as he wanted, he pulled out some sort of map, and began circling objects on it.

"What's this all about doc?" I asked, watching as he circled 5 things on the map in red, then circled one more thing in black.

"The red circles are the remaining emeralds, the black circle is the master emerald, oh, and I almost forgot!" He circled one more thing, this time in green. "The GUN HQ, where you will find and kill Commander Towers!"

My ears perked up in joy. "You're gonna let me kill him? Doctor… thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Shadow, we have lots of work to do! We have 5 emeralds to go, a master emerald, and the GUN leader to take care of. That's the order we're going on so be patient, and do me a favor, make sure Rouge won't be any trouble to us."

I stood and looked back at him. "Should I kill her?"

He chuckled and patted me on the back. "I don't care if you kill her or convince her to work with us, you just take care of it."

After the conversation with the doctor, I returned to Rouge on the roof, who happened to be video chatting with that guy Knuckles.

"Oh babe, I gotta go, I'll call back later." she quickly hung up and glanced over to me.

"Got a soft side now do we?" I smirked and sat next to her again.

"Me and Knuckles have been dating for 6 years, so I guess I have a soft side towards him." she chuckled, then glanced over at me. "I figured I shouldn't run off, I like living so, here I am."

"You're a smart girl. Listen, GUN has lied to you, if you don't believe me the doctor has video on his computer."

Her smile turned into a frown. "Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I'm not, you don't sound as surprised as I thought you would. Did you already know something?" I went to look at her, but she had her face buried in her knees.

"Well, no. I kinda had a feeling by the way he talked about you that there was a personal vendetta against you. I guess you know that though."

I forced her to look up at me. "He killed my best friend and the man who created me. The doctor is gonna let me kill him. I suggest you pick a side now."

She stood and waved for me to stand to, reluctantly, I stood and followed her. She walked down the stairs and into the elevator. We went down in complete silence, the doors opened and we were out on the beach.

"Listen. I can't work for GUN knowing they're corrupt, but I can't have you killing just anybody. Not everyone at GUN was around when that happened, you can't just kill anyone you want Shadow."

We walked a while before she stopped at a log and sat down. I stayed standing next to her.

"I kill only when necessary, or when I can't control my anger. I will sleep better at night once Towers is dead. I can't believe they promoted him to lead them after all he's done. He's a phony, he's a liar… I fucking hate him!" I felt the mist return, my heart was pounding, crying for revenge. I had my fists balled up when suddenly I felt Rouge grab my hand.

"Calm yourself, the time will come when you can get back at him, right now you need to breathe."

I wasn't exactly comfortable with her grabbing me like that, but her words did calm me slightly. I snatched my hand away and sat in the sand.

"You know you can sit next to me, I won't bite." she joked.

"I rather not let myself get close to anyone." I muttered, then turned and glanced up at her, she was staring again, just this time when I looked she didn't stop.

"You're really damaged aren't you?"

"You have no idea." I stood and grabbed her. "I've enjoyed this chat, but it's gone on long enough. Are you with us or against us?"

She sat for a moment then answered "I'll help you, as long as you control yourself."

"Chaos control."

We appeared back in the control room.

"You and Jessica will share a room. Go get acquainted. I'll find you when I decide to move on the next emerald. She left with a nod, and I decided to go find my room. The doctor set me up in the room next to his, so I assumed it would be a large room. I was indeed right. I entered and found the walls had been painted black, the blankets on the bed were red, and there were blinds over the windows. _The doctor must know I like it dark when I sleep._ I closed the door and removed my clothing, keeping on my inhibitor rings. I climbed into bed and turned off the lamp on the bedside table, drifting off to sleep almost instantly. .

When morning came, I found myself awakened by the white bat.

"Shadow… Shadow… SHADOW."

I finally opened my eyes, she looked awfully frustrated. I pushed her aside and sat up, she was sitting on the bed next to me.

"What's the big idea? Can't you see I was sleeping?" I said in a grouchy tone.

"Oh does prince charming need more sleep? Too bad, Eggman needs your help."

"Why couldn't he just get you to help?"

"Shadow sweetie, I'm going to visit Knuckles for a little bit, I have to give him some love ya know?"

I rolled over out of bed and tossed my shirt on.

"Yeah yeah, go do whatever."

I slid my pants on and turned to her, noticing she was blushing.

"What?"

"Nothing Shadow, I'll see ya later, yeah?"

"Sure."

She walked out, still blushing. I had no idea why, but whatever. I walked over to the bathroom and washed my face off, then headed to find the doctor. Sure enough, I found him in the control room.

"I was told you needed me doctor?" I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down next to him.

"Ah yes, I think it's time we start preparing our move on the next emerald, what do you think?" He pointed towards the map. I simply nodded.

"Whenever you're ready doctor, which one should we take first?"

"Well, I think the most challenging one is gonna be taking the emerald that Sonic's friend Tails has. Only because Sonic will likely guard it. The others shouldn't be a huge deal, and the master emerald will be a challenge too, but no worries, we will cross that bridge when we get there." He smiles then pointed towards one of the circles. "There is a Jewelry store in Station Square that has a chaos emerald. You could go in loud and snatch it, or wait for the bat to return, she's a master jewel thief, and I bet she could help you do it quietly."

The doc had a point, if I were to go now, it would be a clusterfuck. I decided waiting for the bat would be best.

"I'll wait until Rouge returns from her date."

"Very well, that girl you brought here, Jessica? She was looking for you too, she's in the dining hall on the bottom floor."

"Okay, I'll come back once I have the emerald." I left with a nod and slowly walked down the hall. _Rouge might be awhile, I guess I should check and see what Jessica wanted._ I stopped for a moment, trying to decide if I wanted alone time or if I was willing to go talk to Jessica. _She can wait, I need to think._ I walked onto the rooftop, almost instantly regretting my decision. The sun was blaring heat. I walked into a shaded area where there was a tiny room on the roof, and sat down in she shade. I glanced out at the ocean and my mind wandered. _Maria…_ The color of the ocean reminded me of her eyes. _Maria, I wish I remembered more about her. I wish I could just remember everything._ I realized I had a decent grasp on my past, but not everything made sense yet. _Why was I even created? I remember one of the GUN troops calling me a weapon, but surely I wouldn't have been stuck on the ARK if I were a weapon. Something isn't adding up…_

"Shadow, there you are!"

I glanced up and saw Jessica, who was now sitting next to me. She had adjusted from wearing the work uniform to now wearing a white tank top and tight fitted shorts.

"Damn it sure is hot out here, how do you stand it?" She asked, poking my arm.

"I'm not human, I'm immortal, mere heat doesn't bother me as much as it should, though it will make me uncomfortable. The doctor told me you wanted to talk, but I needed a minute, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

I watched as her eyes darted off, she seemed nervous.

"You see Shadow, I have a slight problem with what's going on, do you know why Eggman wants the emeralds?"

"No, and I truly don't care." I responded harshly.

"He intends to use some type of super weapon to blow up the planet if the leaders of the world won't give him full power."

"Like I said, I truly don't care. He can do as he wishes, once I kill Towers, I'm going back to the ARK."

"You're a fucking monster, listen to yourself, all of those innocent lives are gonna be put at risk and for what? Over the death of a little girl"

I quickly stood up and pinned her against the wall.

"I suggest you watch your tone and choose your next words very carefully, let's get something clear right now, I only brought your ass here to keep you safe, but if you EVER talk about Maria like that again, I'll rip your goddamn throat out, understand?"

She was shaking like a Chihuahua.

"I'm sorry… please don't kill me." tears rolled off her face, I let go and she fell to the floor, now sobbing loudly.

"Maybe you should start telling Rouge about your problems." I said harshly as I walked back towards my room. Before I went in, I grabbed a pen and piece of paper, and began writing.

 _Rouge, come find me when you return, I need your help. - Shadow._

I placed the paper on her doorway, then went back to my room to sleep. This time, I didn't go straight to sleep, instead I decided to try out the shower. I didn't expect much, but I was surprised that the water pressure was so good. I stood leaning against the wall, letting the water fall over me. _Damn, I could get used to this_. After cleaning myself and deciding to just stand there for an extra 15 minutes, I finally climbed out and decided to start drying myself off. I grabbed the towel and wrapped myself up, re entering my room to find Jessica sitting on my bed.

"Jesus what now?"

She put her head down, she looked sad. "I came to say I'm sorry, it wasn't right of me to say what I said. I don't know you Shadow, so I shouldn't talk about you, it's not fair." she glanced up and looked at me.

"Apology accepted." I responded after putting a shirt on, still having the towel wrapped around me.

"Can I get to know you better?" she asked in a hesitant tone.

I slowly glanced over at her and studied her face. "Some other time, perhaps. Right now I need to prepare for my mission."

"Oh… okay Shadow. Cya around I guess." She stood and slowly walked out.

I was kinda shocked she wanted to learn more about me, but then again I really wasn't in the position to tell people about me, there was just too much confusion at the moment. I only knew what my mission was, and that was to get revenge for Maria, no matter the cost. I decided it would be best for me to nap until Rouge returned, so I put on some boxers and curled up in bed, leaving the door cracked so she could wake me when she returned.

 _Chapter 2 is done! Wanted it to be done before Thanksgiving so I could have some free time, hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Chapter 3 will involve Shadow and Rouge having to work together to get the Emerald, and maybe, just maybe, introducing Shadow to a blue hedgehog we all know :) Chapter 3 will likely be out sometime next week, depending on how much time I spend this weekend writing instead of black friday shopping and etc, so follow the story and stay tuned for more updates! Reviews motivate me, good or bad, I'm always striving to get better, so let me know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3 - A wild turn of events._

I was suddenly awakened by a rapid shaking. I slightly opened one of my eyes to scan for the cause, only to find Rouge grabbing my leg, getting ready to shake me again.

"That won't be necessary." I said in a annoyed, yet sleepy tone. I closed my eye again. I felt my bed shift as she sat down on the end of it.

"Well I got your note sleepy head, what did you need help with?"

 _Sleepy head? Why does that sound so familiar._

I decided to open my eyes again, my eyes sent a chill down her spine, and it made me let out a slight chuckle.

"You know, I'm not gonna harm you unless you give me a reason to." I sat up slowly, stretching my arms and popping my back. _Damn, now that felt amazing._

"I know Shadow, I just haven't gotten used to you yet that's all."

I glanced over and met her eyes, they were practically dancing, she was studying me from the chest up, since I was still under the blanket.

"Don't plan on getting close to me, once all this is done I'm going back to my solo act." I stood and grabbed my shirt. "Listen, I need your help getting a emerald, the doctor spoke very highly of your thieving skills. So I'm gonna put them to the test." I finished getting dressed and met her eyes again, this time she had a surprised look in her eyes.

"Oh yeah, me and the doc used to have a pretty good bond before he messed that up, but sure, I'll show you what I got." she said in a seductive tone.

I was taken back by her tone, but I decided to ignore it all together.

"Go find the store on the map and come find me when you have a plan, you'll take the lead on this one."

"Take the lead, that sure is putting a lot of trust in me, I appreciate that." she smiled and stood to leave, but I quickly stopped her.

"Let's be _very_ clear. I don't trust you, I just didn't wanna rob it blind and have to get in the spotlight more than I already am. This isn't trust, you're far from earning that. As far as i'm concerned, you're a loose end."

Her eyes got wide at those words.

"So what, you gonna kill me when this is all said and done?"

"Don't give me a reason to and you'll be fine." I let go of her and let her leave, I turned and picked up a book that was on the shelf and began to read.

*Rouges POV*

"Don't give me a reason to and you'll be fine." He released me and I quickly darted out of the room. I immediately went for the roof to call Topaz. I flew up the stairs and blocked the doorway behind me. I hit the emergency button on my communicator and was patched through instantly.

"Agent Rouge, is everything alright?" Topaz called out from the other side of the line.

"I'm fine, listen, Shadow is about to hit a jewelry store and I'm gonna fuck it up so you guys can come in and arrest him. He thinks GUN fired me so I should be okay, but you guys gotta be ready, he's stronger than anyone I've ever met."

"Will do Rouge, hang in there and send me a time and location when you're ready. Topaz out."

My hair stood up when a voice appeared behind me out of nowhere.

"You're really gonna betray Shadow?"

I turned to find Jessica with a frightened face. Her neck had purple lines on it.

"Jessica what the hell happened to you?" I ran over and gave her a hug, she returned it and I felt a tear hit the top of my head.

"Shadow… he choked me because I mentioned that girl… Maria or whatever her name is."

I let go and looked up, she was visibly exhausted.

"Get some sleep and don't worry about Shadow, I'll take care of him soon enough. I promise."

*Hours later, back in Shadows POV*

*knock knock knock*

"What?" I answered in a harsh tone.

"It's me, I'm ready to go out." Rouge called out.

"Doors unlocked. Let yourself in."

The door swung open and I was surprised to see the bat had changed her wardrobe. She wore a tight red dress, red high heels, and red lipstick.

I was beyond breath taken, and she noticed it. _Jesus she's beautiful. Wait, stop it._ I quickly regained my composure and shrugged off my thoughts.

"What's the occasion?" I asked in a friendlier tone than usual, and she picked up on this.

"Oh this old thing? Knuckles bought it for me for when I go out on missions like this, I may not be apart of GUN anymore, but you and I are going undercover to steal this emerald. I got ya something."

She had her hands behind her back the entire time, and when she showed her hands, she handed me a tuxedo.

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me." I threw it on the bed and stared back at her, her smirk was now a frown.

"Shadow, stop being so hard and wear it! The red bow tie will really bring out your eyes. Get dressed, I'll be waiting outside." She walked out, hands on her hips. I had to stop myself from staring. _Jesus I've known her for no more than a week and she's already trying to get in my head. Something's off about all this… she sure is acting strange for someone with a boyfriend._ I got dressed and out on the tuxedo, then walked over to the nightstand and grabbed my green chaos emerald. I glanced at myself in the mirror and was shocked at how different I looked. _I look like I'm getting married, this is ridiculous._ I reluctantly dragged myself out of the room and turned heads from everyone in the hallway.

"WOAH SHADOW, you clean up nice!" Eggman yelled out.

"I hate to say it, but I told ya so Shad, it really does bring out the red in your eyes." Rouge had a smile of approval. I quickly shut that down.

"Don't call me Shad, let's get this over with so I can get out of this ridiculous outfit."

She grabbed my arm and locked it within hers. I pulled back but she stopped me.

"Hey! I said we're gonna be undercover this mission, you're gonna play my husband, and you're gonna buy me a _very_ expensive emerald if you catch my drift." Her words said one thing, yet her smile said another. She was enjoying this a little too much.

"Whatever, let's get this shit over with. If you tell anyone about this, consider yourself dead."

She just laughed it off, as we walked away I heard Eggman call out.

"You two love birds have fun now! Bring me back my emerald Shadow!"

My blood boiled, _Love birds? This day can't get anymore annoying._

I wanted to chaos control, but Rouge said it would gather too much attention, so she hired a limo instead. We rode mostly in silence, she would try and talk to me here and there but I simply ignored her. _She's playing too nice, I don't like this._ My mind then went back to what I was thinking earlier. _Did I really think she was beautiful? I mean she is… but shit, I'm not supposed to think like that._ I shook myself and noticed we were closing in on the store.

We finally arrived at the store, I was about to hop out of the limo when she stopped me.

"Now Shadow, remember the plan, don't leave your wife behind now." she had that seductive tone again.

"Listen, we're here for the emerald, don't be extra." I huffed as I got out of the car, reaching out to grab her hand. She looked shocked at first.

"I'm playing the part now don't blow it." I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. Her smile brightened up once more.

We walked in together and were both greeted by a robot.

"Hello, welcome to Westopilos Jewels and More! What're you looking for today?" the robot had a monotone voice. It was a rather large robot, it was red with yellow stripes, and had big long arms. I felt Rouge nudge me as if I were supposed to speak.

"Oh yeah, um, I want the finest jewel you have to offer for my uh, lovely, wife here." I struggled to say it out loud in a meaningful voice, but the robot didn't seem to notice.

"Ah yes, you must be the rich couple that called ahead of time to buy the emerald, correct?"

"Yes that would be us handsome." Rouge answered, the robot simply turned and flew off.

"I guess he's getting the emerald?" I glanced over at Rouge, who was glancing out the window.

"Yeah, listen, I know this is bad timing but i _really_ gotta pee. Distract him until I get back and try not to blow anything up, okay?" before I even had a chance to respond, she was gone.

 _Jeez, that was weird._ I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the street wasn't as crowded as it was when we first arrived. I stood around for a moment and got a little nervous when the robot didn't return.

 _Shit, something's wrong._ I turned and checked behind me again, I heard car doors slamming down the street. I peaked my head out the door and saw a GUN tactical team surrounding the store. I quickly ran towards the back and found the robot, who was holding the emerald in a locked box.

"Here you go sir."

"TAKE IT OUT OF THE DAMN BOX!" I screamed towards the robot, only for him to stare mindlessly back at me.

"Fine, have it your way. Chaos spear!" I struck the robot, splitting him in half. The box hit the floor and broke, the emerald rolled to my feet. Suddenly bullets began to fly through the store. I quickly ducked behind the counter and waited for the fire to stop. Once it finally stopped, I heard someone gasping for air.

"Rouge?" I called out from the floor, I glanced back towards the bathroom and saw she was leaned up against the wall, shot in the stomach.

 _God Dammit. You would go and get yourself shot when we need to leave._

""FLASH BANG OUT."

The room was lit by a blinding light and I found my ears ringing wildly. I came back to my senses after a moment and found myself surrounded. One of the agents was helping Rouge out of the store.

"Agent Rouge is down, I say again Agent Rouge is down."

 _I knew it._ My whole body began to shake with anger. _How could I be so damn blind, when my biggest threat was right next to me the entire time. She set me up!_ The agents around me were all equipped with assault rifles. I fell to my knees and closed my eyes, channeling the energy from the two emeralds I had.

"Shit Captain, what's that little bastard doing, and why's he glowing with mist?"

"FIRE!"

I felt my skin absorb the bullets like a sponge. The fire continued for about 5 seconds before everyone had to reload. They hadn't realized the mistake they just made.

"Captain he's not even bleeding! We just made it angrier!"

I stood and opened my eyes, my firsts were glowing red. I felt my inhibitor rings slide off.

"CHAOS."

"OPEN FIR-"

"BLAST!"

A shock wave of red energy shook the entire building, killing everyone in it. I stood for a moment, breathing heavily. It was one of my most powerful attacks, but it damaged my body all the same. _I gotta get out of here._ I walked out to find that the blast not only affected the store, but most of the block. I walked slowly out the door and saw the carnage I caused. I slid my rings back on to give me enough power to get home, when suddenly I heard a cry come from an ambulance that had flipped over. I walked over and kicked open the back doors to find Rouge in the back with a few dead agents.

"Jesus of all people you lived?" I said harshly, dragging her out onto the street.

"Just… just kill me already." Her voice was broken from the tears flowing from her.

"Why're you crying, you knew damn well they didn't stand a chance against me." I stood over her, then leaned down next to her so I could hear her better.

"It's… not that. They betrayed me… the plan was to get me out… then shoot…" I raised a brow to this.

"So this was all your idea, bat?"

"Sadly…"

 _Fucking pathetic, all of them are._ I grabbed her and threw her over my shoulder, I walked out from the ambulance to be greeted by a unwelcome voice.

"So we meet again Shadow."

I turned to find Commander Towers staring at me.

"Hmph, I see age hasn't been kind to you old man, be glad I have bigger issues right now, or else I'd kill you where you stand!" I glanced over at Rouge who was bleeding all over me.

"That's a shame, but she knew the risk when she joined up, she can easily be replaced by another eager agent."

I felt Rouge shiver on my shoulder, she was obviously not taking this conversation very well, along with having a bullet in her stomach. I gripped Rouge tighter as I pulled out on off the emeralds.

"Listen, as much as I'd love to stay and fuck you up, duty calls. Chaos control now!"

Once we returned to the base, Eggman saw the damage that had been done to her.

"JESUS SHADOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" He screamed as he ran over towards us. "BOKKUN, GET THE MEDICAL BAY READY."

I dropped her on the table and left her, the doc called out to me but I just kept walking. I saved her, when I should've let her die… and I had no idea why I did it.

Hours had passed before I heard a knock on my door. Before I could ask who it was, the door flew open. It was knuckles.

"HEY PAL, WHAT WERE YOU DOING ALL DRESSED UP WITH MY GIRLFRIEND?" he ran up and grabbed me, but I quickly broke away from his grip.

"Don't start a fight you can't win. For the record it was her idea to act as a couple."

His face dropped. "ACT AS A WHAT? DID YOU TOUCH HER? DID YOU KISS HER? I'LL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" He threw himself at me, but I quickly chaos controlled out of the way.

"Save your energy, you're gonna regret your tone in a minute." I took a battle stance, and like the idiot he is, he challenged me once more.

"I'LL TEACH YOU TO LEAVE MY GIRL ALONE."

He threw himself towards me again, this time I caught his fist and placed a swift uppercut to his chin, as he flew up, I teleported to his height to meet him, and kicked him sideways into the wall. He slowly slid down, hitting the floor with a loud thud. Eggman barged into the room, then stood back and observed the fight.

"You dare enter my domain and cause trouble, then get your ass handed to you? You're pathetic. and you're the guardian to this master emerald? I bet I could steal it blindfolded, with my arms and legs tied together." I laughed for the first time in, well, in forever.

Knuckles attempted to stand but I simply kicked his head, blood splattering all over the wall. He lie there unconscious, I grinned in victory and turned my attention towards the doctor.

"OH. MY. GOD. SHADOW THAT WAS AMAZING. OHHH I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO FIGHT SONIC!"

I dragged Knuckles into the hallway and left him at Eggman's feet. "What do you wanna do about him?"

"Hm, I'll get one of my robots to go dump him off somewhere, he's an unnecessary complication as of right now." The doctor waved over one of his many robots and it carried Knuckles off with ease. I glanced back up at the doctor, crossing my arms.

"How's Rouge?"

This caused him to raise a brow. "Oh my, does someone care about her well being?" he said with a sinister smile.

"I wanted to make sure she wasn't dead so I can interrogate her." I responded coldly.

The smile somehow managed to grow larger on his face. "AH! Shadow I thought you had gone soft on me, go check on her yourself, take a left down the hall and it's the last door on the right." He pointed me in the the direction of Rouge's room, then suddenly stopped.

"Oh my I almost forgot, I found something you'll wanna see before you go talk to her. Follow me."

I obeyed and followed him into a room with a projector, there were images of me on the wall with Maria.

"Doctor what is this?" I felt pain as I looked at the photos, everything was starting to make more and more sense now.

"I found these on a file that was supposed to be deleted. The government tried to cover up your entire existence. He lied to the public about how bad you are Shadow, I think maybe that's why Rouge tried to get you killed. She thinks you're the bad guy… so maybe we should bring her into the fold." he pointed towards a disk.

"What's on the disk doc?" I picked it up and examined it.

"It's something that'll get the best agent GUN has to offer to work with us, and we will use her to our advantage. After we're done, any personal vendetta you have with her can be solved however you like. Now go find her and check on her."

I grabbed the disk and stepped out of the room. I was reluctant to go check on Rouge, I didn't want her to think I cared, but I wanted answers. I found myself outside of the infirmary door, standing there debating if I should actually enter or not.

 _The last thing I need is this bat trying to play more mind games, I just need answers, focus Shadow._

I took a deep breath and walked in, she was sitting up in her hospital bed, watching the TV on the wall. When she saw me enter, her hairs stood up. She looked as if she were waiting for me to say something, but I just crossed my arms as I sat next to her, sending her harsh looks. She finally decided to break the silence.

"Well, I know you didn't trust me before and you really don't trust me now, but I just wanted to say sorry… I didn't know GUN was so loose with their agents, Commander Towers has changed since you came back." she said, laying back but never taking her eyes off me. _The way she watches me, I can tell she doesn't trust me either._

"I don't care about what happened… we will discuss your punishment later. I have something for you." I handed her the disk, after examining it she handed it back to me.

"No, take it, it's for you." I tried to give it back to her, but she pushed it away and laughed.

"Shadow! I can't leave my bed, you have to put it in the DVD player if you want me to watch it." she pointed towards the tv in the room.

I walked over and examined the DVD player, it had dust all over it. I simply blew the dust off, then sneezed extremely hard. _Jesus I didn't think that through._

I glanced back when I heard giggling behind me. Rouge had a hand over her mouth, trying to keep her giggles hidden.

"Very funny, now watch." I said as I slid the DVD in and it played. I took a seat next to her again, crossed my arms and watched as closely as she did. It was video on the ark, of Commander Towers shooting Maria and commanding the other scientists to be killed. After about 15 minutes of chilling video, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I had closed my eyes, not noticing the tear rolling off the side of my face. _Maria… I'll avenge you._

"Shadow, you okay?" Rouge asked, in a somewhat caring voice. I was quickly brought back to reality. "Yeah, sure. I showed you that to show you who the commander really was, a cold blooded murder and a liar. Help me… help me take him down, I'll get revenge for Maria and you'll get revenge for what he did to you earlier today." I stood up, waiting for a response.

"You're not here to kill me?"

 _Well I wasn't expecting that._ I rubbed my head and sat back down before mustering the strength to look up at her.

"No. I wanted to, but I'm calm now." I said as chill as I could've.

She simply leaned back again and let out a sigh of relief.

I stood to leave, but stopped when I realized I should tell her about Knuckles.

"Rouge."

She glanced back up at me once more.

"Yes Shady?"

 _Shady.. there she goes again._

"Listen, Knuckles is kinda mad at me… and you, at the moment."

She frowned. "Well what the hell is his problem, is he jealous or something?"

I looked kinda lost, _why would he be jealous?_ "Maybe he found out about your undercover skit you pulled, and I kinda sorta told him it was your idea." I said with a chuckle.

"SHADOW NO YOU DIDN'T!" She laughed yet sounded shocked. "He's gonna give me hell for that, Jesus be glad we didn't do anything or else I'd be a single bat again."

I had turned to walk away but slowly turned back around. "What do you mean again?" I crossed my arms once more, examining how her body language had changed. _Great, now she's about to get sad._

"Well, me and Knuckles have dated for a while but it's been on and off, he's been know to… sleep around. I gave him one last chance and he's straightened up since then… but he's probably gonna use our little undercover couple thing against me."

I walked over to her and sat on the edge of her bed this time, pushing her chin up to force her to look at me.

"If he gets mad at you doing your job, then you need to reconsider if he's worth the effort you put into him."

 _What the actual hell am I doing right now?_

He facial expression said the exact same thing, she was speechless. _Shit even I didn't expect that to come out of my mouth, I actually sounded like I was giving good advice._

I quickly decided to hop up and make myself scarce. I closed the door and walked off to find the doctor.

"Ah there you are Shadow, I think it's time we up the game a little, what do ya say?" He tossed me the green emerald.

"I'm always up for a challenge, what did you have in mind?" I caught the emerald and watched the computer screen, it was video of Sonic.

"I think you should really introduce yourself to the world, by stomping out their one true hero. I'll broadcast it live, you just need to beat his sorry little blue ass! What do you think?"

I sat in thought for a moment. _I won't benefit at all from this, but fuck it, I guess I'll amuse the doctor while we wait for the heat do die down._ "I'm in, where is he."

"Station Square, you haven't been there yet but I'm sure in the near future we will be there a lot, my intel says there are 2 emeralds there!"

I nodded and walked off towards my room to prepare. _This Sonic may be the only creature on the planet that can present me with some sort of challenge. This should be interesting._

I cleaned myself up from the blood bath earlier and made sure I had the emerald, then I chaos controlled to Station Square.

When I arrived in a flash, I was greeted by hundreds of pedestrians just walking by, most of them had stopped once I flashed before them.

"Hey, isn't that the hedgehog that robbed the store earlier?"

"YEAH! HE KIDNAPPED THAT BAT TOO!"

 _Jesus humans are so gullible, they believe anything they're told._

I simply began waking through the crowd, glancing around for signs of my blue counterpart. Sure enough, with the commotion I had caused, he finally showed up. In a blue flash, he stopped right in front of me.

"So you're the new hedgehog that's been causing me and my friends so much trouble. What's your problem new guy?" He pushed me, and I didn't take that lightly. Instead of playing his little back and forth chit chat game, I chaos controlled behind him and quickly put him in a headlock, taking him to the ground.

"GAHH- HOW- FAST ARE YOU?" He gasped between breaths.

"I'm your worst nightmare Sonic, you'll soon see why I'm called the ultimate one." I squeezed harder then felt him slipping from my grip, so I let go and rolled, he dashed at me quicker than I expected, but not quick enough to actually hit me. I teleported again and kicked him in the back of the head, then repeated the action except this time I kicked him in the forehead.

"Oh my god this is embarrassing! Don't do something!" One of the people in the growing crowd around us said.

Sonic was about to sit up when I quickly jumped on top of him, slamming my fists repeatedly into each side of his face. _This. Is. My. Challenge? This. Is. Pathetic._ I said to myself as I landed each punch. A pool of blood now surrounded the blue hedgehog as I stood, glaring out at the crowd.

"Your planet needs a new hero… but I'm not it, I'm here to demolish it!" I said with a wicked grin, then chaos controlled back to the base. I was greeted by a wounded Rouge walking slowly around and an enthusiastic Eggman.

"Shad I gotta say, that was something else… I've never seen Sonic so helpless." She looked genuinely scared. Eggman on the other hand looked as if he had just won the lottery.

"SHADOW THAT WAS AMAZING! You're gonna do great things with me, together we will rule this planet!"

I simply just huffed. "This planet can be yours to rule, but once we're done I'm leaving this planet."

I walked off before he could respond, I didn't care to hear what he had to say. I walked back to my room and decided to rest. After about a minute the door opened slowly. I glanced up to find Rouge looking in on me.

"Can we talk?" she asked in a reluctant voice.

 _No._

"Sure."

 _Idiot._

She walked over and sat next to me on the bed, I was laid out and she was sitting close by.

"I just wanted to say… thanks for saving me. I betrayed what little trust you had for me and you still saved me… but why?"

 _Damn, this is why I shoulda said no._

I sat there trying not to make eye contact, my mind trying to find an explanation to why I did it. _Well, I know why I did it, I just don't feel comfortable saying it._

"You… remind me of someone I once knew, and even though you tried to hurt me, I couldn't leave you to die."

 _Well, cats out the bag now. Smooth._

I placed my hand on my temples, regretting opening my mouth. She shocked me when she kissed me on the forehead. My eyes were closed, but shot open when she did that. She thought it was quite hilarious.

"Awe Shadow, you act like you haven't been kissed before."

 _I haven't._

"Sorry you just shocked me." I said in a low voice, trying to end the conversation.

"I owe you." She said in a seductive tone, then got up and slowly began to walk out. She stopped in the doorway and glanced back at me.

"You were right about Knuckles, he wasn't worth the effort I was putting into him, so next time I see him I'm gonna break up with him."

 _WHAT._

"Rouge, I didn't mean break up with him."

She slowly walked back over and sat next to me.

"I know you didn't, but that's what's gonna happen. He's cute and has a great body but, he doesn't really care about me… he just really likes the sex. So I'm done with him, thanks to you for finally opening my eyes."

She smiled and stood, actually leaving this time. I sat in bed in shock of what had just taken place. _She kissed me… and broke up with Knuckles. What the hell even is today? I had to fake marry Rouge, got betrayed by her, saved her, beat up knuckles, talked to Rouge about it, beat up Sonic, then got kissed by Rouge?!_ I felt my body shiver. _I need to focus on the mission, the emeralds are the only things that matter right now._ I felt my eyes grow heavy, and before I knew it I was fast asleep.

I woke up very early the next morning, when I glanced at the clock it read 3:12am. _Shit, how early did I fall asleep?_ I stood up and threw on a white t-shirt and black jeans, then walked down the quiet hallway. I was surprised when I reached the end of the hallway and found Jessica looking out of the window.

"You're up early." I called out to her, clearly startling her.

"Shit you scared me, don't sneak up on my like that please!" she said catching her breath. "I actually haven't slept yet, I can't sleep…"

I walked over and sat next to her, there was a small table and 4 chairs next to a big window overlooking the ocean where we sat.

"What's wrong." I asked, noticing the bags under her eyes. _She hasn't slept in days._

"It's Eggman. Shadow, I don't know you that well but I know you're not as evil as he is! He wants to destroy the damn planet, please don't let him use you to get what he wants."

I stiffened up. "He won't destroy the planet if everyone just surrenders. They'd be dumb not to with the amount of power he will have with all the emeralds." I noticed her face showed some disapproval.

"Shadow, be the person I know you can be. Don't hurt people… help them."

 _ **Shadow, promise me you'll help people.**_

I fell over, my head in pain and I became very dizzy. _Maria…_

"Shadow, are you okay?"

I felt my eyes get heavy, and just before I felt the close, I saw Jessica and a white light appear over me.

Everything was dark now. _Fuck… did I die? Impossible…_

 _ **Shadow!**_

I turned and was met by none other than Maria.

 _Maria! What're you doing here?_

 _ **Well, you're having some trouble Shadow, let me explain. You were created to help me, but before I died I told you to help other people. You were made to have zero emotion, and for the most part you do very well of having little to no emotion, but that all changed when you began to love me.**_

 _Continue…_

 _ **You're changing, and your body is struggling, you're starting to feel things abnormal to you, such a guilt, concern, and… well, I'll let you figure out the last one on your own.**_

 _What do you mean figure it out on my own… Maria what is this?_

 _ **I'm being allowed a short amount of time to talk with you before you wake up. You likely won't get a change again until you die. I know you're immortal to sickness and you heal faster than most, but you can physically die, and you likely will one day. I'll be here when that day comes, until then, sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.**_

 _MARIA WAIT!_

The darkness returned and I felt a tug on my shirt. I opened one eye half way to find Bokkun next to me.

"What is it robot?" I said, noticing how weak my voice sounded.

"Doctor Eggman told me what happened to you… you're in bad shape right now, but if you rest up you'll be fine."

I glanced down and tried to sit up, but I physically couldn't. _What the hell is wrong with me._

"Bokkun, what happened." I glanced back up but the robot was gone. _Something's off about all of this…_

Suddenly the door creaked open. A white hand hit the light switch and the lights went out. I heard the door close and I heard quite footsteps approaching.

"Who goes there?" I called out, trying to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. My ears picked up a familiar voice.

"shhhh, keep your voice down." It was Rouge, but why was she sneaking like this?

" _Rouge, what's wrong?_ " I whispered to her as I felt her lean against whatever I was laying on.

" _We're under attack, I came to protect you, now shut up before they hear us."_

I sat quietly in thought for a moment. _They? Who is they?_

I suddenly heard voices outside the door.

"This is the infirmary, seems quiet but let's check it out."

I quickly slid my hand into my pocket and felt I still had my chaos emerald. I quickly felt for Rouge and pulled her onto me.

" _Shadow what are you-"_

" _Shhh, trust me. Chaos control."_

We flashed away just as the door began to open.

When we landed, we were in a _very_ familiar place.

"Fuck…"

"Shadow.. is this what I think it is?"

"Sadly." I said as I rolled her off me. I tried to sit up but I couldn't.

"Rouge, what the actual fuck happened to me? I can barely move."

"I don't know Shads, but why did you teleport us here?"

I glanced around and before answering.

"I don't know honestly. We need to leave, do you have somewhere we can stay?" I asked, finally getting the strength to sit up.

"Well not really, GUN was attacking us on Eggman's base, and they know where I live. However, we can't stay in the store we robbed, I don't know why you teleported us here!" She walked over and sat next to me on the floor.

"Well, this is the only other place we've been together outside of the base. When I grabbed you and caused chaos control I was thinking about you, so here we are."

She studied me for a moment. "So that's how it works, you think of a place and you go there?"

I nodded. "It sure is helpful."

"Wanna try something?" She said with a smile on her face.

"What is it?"

She pulled out a piece of paper she had in her pocket, and handed it to me. It was a picture.

"Want me to take us here?" I studied the picture then glanced back at her.

"If you can, then we'd have a place to stay at least for the night."

"Worth a shot, grab onto me… Chaos Control."

After a moment we appeared right in the area of the photo.

"Damn Shadow that's amazing!" She had a smile on her face as she walked over and jumped onto the couch.

"So, mind telling me what this place is?"

"Well, it's a safe house GUN paid for, it's not mine but I stayed here a lot when I took vacations from missions, they wouldn't expect to find us here. There are a few things I should mention though." Her voice trailed off.

 _Great, there's always a catch isn't there?_

"What is it?" I said in a dull tone.

"Well I only ever stayed here on my own, so there's only one bed."

I glanced over at her. "Okay, so what's the problem?"

She looked as if she didn't know how to respond. He eyes showed confusion. "Well, we'll have to share a bed."

My eyes widened. "No, not necessary. I'll sleep on the couch."

She chuckled at my hasty response. "Whatever floats your boat, but just know I won't bite if you do decide to come sleep with me." She said in a playful, yet seductive tone.

 _Here we go again._

"Help me onto the couch. If you haven't noticed I'm somewhat drained at the moment." I sat there, basically helpless. _I don't know what happened to me that drained my energy, but shit… I'm exhausted._

Rouge wrapped her arms around my chest and dragged me up onto the couch.

"You know you're a lot heavier than you look." She said with a chuckle as she sat me down, I didn't find it funny though.

"Or maybe you're just weak." I clapped back.

"Easy there snappy pants, don't try and fight the one person who can take care of you right now." She sat next to me on the couch, turning on the TV, then handed me the remote. I didn't even bother changing the channel, I just laid it down next to me and decided to rest.

 _She's right, I better not piss her off… can't believe I'm stuck with her._

"So, how long should we stay here?" I stretched out, laying my legs over her lap. I was surprised she didn't throw my legs off, but I was glad she didn't, I needed to relax.

"In all honesty, as long as we need. This is my personal safe house so no other agents use it, and it would be good to stay away from Eggman for a while, he's getting kinda power crazy if you haven't noticed."

 _Great, now her and Jessica were against the doctor. Maybe I should start rethinking my agreement with him…_

"I know." I simply replied, I closed my eyes to rest, but we continued to talk.

"If I were a betting girl, I'd bet you spend more time with your eyes closed than you do with them open." She giggled as she placed her hands on my legs. Her touch sent chills down my spine. I slightly opened one eye before I spoke.

"No funny business bat." I closed my eye back after I knew she acknowledged it.

She simply giggled again, rubbing my legs softly. I would never admit it out loud, but it actually helped relax me. I was a bit uptight over everything that had happened.

"I know you don't trust me Shadow, but I promise one day you will, maybe you'll even consider me your friend."

I slightly peaked to find her glancing at me with a big smile, and I couldn't help but smirk back.

"Wouldn't you like that." I said as I closed my eye back, deciding to get more comfortable.

"I bet you're tired, wanna sleep?" she released her hands from my legs.

I left my eyes closed, but I perked my brow.

"Hmph, I could sleep…" I felt around for the remote, and once I found it I held it out towards her.

"What's that for?"

I opened my eye once more. "Well, you don't sound tired. I assume you don't have a TV in your room, so I'm giving you permission to stay in here and watch TV, since you helped me up here." I saw her surprised reaction.

"You want me to stay?! She sounded too happy. _Great, I didn't mean it like that._

"If you want to stay, I won't stop you." I closed my eyes back, then I felt her hands return to my legs.

"Well, I appreciate that Shadow, you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be."

I quickly shot both eyes open, sending her a scolding look. "Don't push it bat." I leaned back down and closed my eyes once more. _Just let me rest… I should've sent her to her room._

"Alright alright…" She replied. I heard the channels start changing, then I heard it stop on a news channel. Her hands returned to my legs once more, she rubbed them softly. She could probably feel how tense I was, because she commented on it.

"Shadow, I know you're trying to rest, but I'm not gonna hurt you, just keep your eyes closed and _trust me._

 _Trust you! This bat must be crazy… but what harm could she do, she's kinda stuck with me for now._

"Proceed." I let myself relax a little more as she rubbed my legs. _Is it bad that i'm actually enjoying this? Is this normal…_

I felt myself begin to drift off to sleep, and before I knew it I was actually asleep.

*Rouges POV*

 _Awe, he's cute when he sleeps._ I studied the ebony hedgehog. He actually looked peaceful for the first time since I've met him. I kept rubbing his legs even though he slept, his muscles were tight so I figured they needed to be loosened up. _I know he doesn't trust me… but I'm gonna make it up to him… he's not even the bad guy._ I admittedly felt guilty, I had be working for the real villain the entire time, Towers was no better than Eggman in my eyes. _Maybe I can convince Eggman to stop them both… but I need to earn his trust first._ Then it hit me, the best idea I had all day! _I'll make him pancakes when he wakes up tomorrow! God, i'm a genius._ I was broken out of my thoughts when I suddenly heard Shadow let out a relieved sigh, almost a purr. _He must really like this massage._ I had to hold back my giggles, I didn't want him to wake up, but he would _never_ admit that he liked this, it would kill his pride. I massaged his legs for a while longer before I carefully slid out from under him, then walked into my room to shower and sleep. _What a day… what a day indeed._

 _Hey guys, CH3 in the books! Like I said in CH2, I will start having chapters to fill in the blanks with characters and their stories/emotions etc. That starts in CH4, so be ready for a more laid back chapter, I made the end of this chapter somewhat chill so you guys could get a taste of how the downtime will be. CH5 will resume with some conflict, but I can't tell :) read to find out what happens! I plan on bringing most of the Sonic characters into this series at some point, so I figured I'd ask you guys if there's anyone you wanna see in particular in these stories, since you guys are the readers! Review if you'd like, I'll be back in a few days with CH4, so follow and stay tuned._


	4. Chapter 4 - friendship?

_Chapter 4 - A friendship?_

 _Shadows POV_

I felt myself wake up, my eyes were closed but I was aware of what was happening around me. I would've fallen asleep if I didn't hear crying coming from the kitchen. My ears perked up as I realized it had to be Rouge. I opened my eyes and stretched out, trying to loosen up and wake up, then I walked into the kitchen to find Rouge sitting at the table crying.

"Rouge?"

She immediately jerked up, she had her face buried in her hands before I spoke. Her mascara ran down her face, she looked like she'd been up all night. I decided to sit across from her and attempt to talk to her.

"Rouge… why're you crying?" I tapped on the table, trying to get her to look at me, but she kept staring at her phone. Without a word, she slid the phone over to me. I stared at her for a moment, then I glanced down at the phone. It was some sort of text conversation between her and Knuckles. Rouge said something about Knuckles only being in the relationship for sex, then Knuckles replied with "so? you act like you've can get better sex than what I have to offer."

I immediately frowned. I didn't know much about how all that worked, but I picked up from how Rouge talked about it that it must be bad. They went back and forth and Rouge broke up with him, and a message appear after saying "you can no longer message this person."

I slid it back over and met her eyes, shining yet filled with tears and sadness.

"I fucking hate him." She said in a hoarse voice. She could barely speak.

"Conserve your energy, stop wasting tears on someone that doesn't deserve you." I said, taking the phone away from her.

"Shadow give it back!" she reached for it but I grabbed her hand and quickly shut it down.

"You'll get it back when I let you." I said harshly, then realized that wasn't the best move. I only appeared to make her cry more.

I truly had no idea what to do, when Maria would cry I would hug her… _wait, that's it!_ I stood and walked over to the bat and cradled her in my arms. I don't think she expected it, because I felt her gasp and shiver. She eventually turned around and hugged back, and after a moment I pulled away. Her tears had stopped.

"Shadow… that's so unlike you." her voice still cracking.

"You don't know me bat." I replied, pointing towards the couch. "Sit, I'll bring you food." her ears perked up when I said food, she must've been hungry. _Shit, even Im hungry._

She walked over and laid out on the couch, while I stayed and tossed some frozen waffles into the toaster. _Something tells me these won't be as good as the ones Jessica made. Wait, weren't those pancakes? Shit, they can't be that different can they?_

After a little over a minute, the waffles flew out of the toaster and I quickly caught them and placed them on a plate, then poured some syrup and carried it over to the the table in front of Rouge.

She sat up and seemed to have calmed down since a few moments ago.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked, placing the plate down on the table.

"Not really… I'm just disappointed."

My ears flopped down.

"What, you don't like waffles?" I watched as she sat back with a grin on her face.

"No silly, I love waffles, I meant I'm disappointed in myself." She picked up the plate and began to eating the waffles. My ears returned to their natural state, and I sat down beside her as she slowly yet surely devoured the waffles.

"Why're you disappointed in yourself?"

She stopped eating for a moment then placed her food down. "I'm disappointed because I broke up with him, cried, and I sadly still love him." She said, tears returning to her eyes. From experience with Jessica, I grabbed the tissues from the table and handed them over quickly.

"Listen, I'm not the best person to talk to when it comes to love… since I've never really loved anyone… ( _other than maria)_ but if it's anything like loving a close friend, then it takes time to get over them, if you ever do." I saw her face lighten up a little.

"You know, for someone who's practically the big bad wolf, you sure give some decent advice." She grabbed the food and started eating again.

"If you don't mind waiting, I'll make you some pancakes for actually talking to me and making me feel a little better."

I met her glance, she looked genuinely happy.

"Listen bat, you don't owe me anything. Even when it comes down to how you betrayed me at the jewelry store, it doesn't matter because you were trying to do your job… and on top of that you didn't know who the commander truly was." I could tell my words were bringing shock to her, she was speechless.

"Okay… who are you and where's Shadow?" she said with a great big smile, followed by a laugh. I couldn't help but notice her dimples when she smiled.

"I'm just in a better mood today. Don't get used to this, bat." I said, now back in my usual harsh tone. She straightened up a little.

"Ahhh there he is, I was wondering when you'd show up." She joked again, finishing up her food. "Sit tight, I'll make you some food."

I simply nodded as she walked into the kitchen and began cooking.

She later returned with a plate of 5 pancakes, with the top pancake having a cherry and some sort of white looking foam on top. She placed it in front of me all proud, but I had to ask.

"What's that?" I was pointing at this foreign white foam.

"Taste it, I promise you'll like it."

I sat for a moment then decided to take a chance and trust her. Sure enough she was right. I felt my eyes widen as the sugars hit my tongue.

"Damn that's good, what is it?" I glanced over at her, she was still showing her goofy smile.

"It's called whip cream, some restaurants do that and some don't, I knew you'd like it though." She sat next me, grabbing the remote and flicking on the tv. She turned it to a channel with music, then she began to nod her head to the beat as she laid back and closed her eyes. Admittedly, we didn't have the same taste in music, but that was fine, she cooked me food, so I decided I'd let it slide this time. Soon after finishing my meal, I found her snoozing on the arm of the couch.

 _Hmph, someone's tired._ I stood and dropped my plate on the counter, then walked outside onto the balcony of the safehouse. The view of the countryside was gorgeous. It was just fields of grass and sunshine, kinda like the place where I first woke up. As I sat out looking around, my mind bounced all over the place. _I wonder if the doctor survived the attack… I only have one emerald, hopefully he didn't lose the rest. I hope Jessica is okay too… I wonder how GUN found Eggman's base. Commander Towers may be a bigger threat than I realized… and Maria… I promise I will have your revenge, even if it's the last thing I do._

I began to drift off to sleep when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Rouge out of the corner of my eye, she had changed from her usual outfit to more relaxed clothes. She wore grey sweatpants with a plain black t-shirt, and some fuzzy white socks with bats on them. She also wore no makeup for the first time since I've met her.

"Thinking about sneaking off without me?" She said in a joking tone. She sat in the chair next to mine, overlooking the fields with me.

"No, I don't think it would be wise to split up right now. As much as I love working solo, I need someone to help me get around, I'm not familiar enough with this planet yet." I said in a calm tone, more relaxed than usual.

"Ah, I see the outdoors are doing ya some good!"

"It's peaceful out here, the city where Jessica stayed was so loud, and Eggman's base was… well, Eggman was there. I don't hate him, but his laugh is obnoxious."

She chuckled at my comment, and I glanced over to find her examining me as I sat there.

"You know, you look really comfortable out here. Maybe when we finish all this shit up, you can stay here, I'll let you have the place."

Her words ran through my head over and over again. I had planned on returning to the Ark after my work was done… but she had a point, it was so peaceful out here, and the Ark would only bring back memories… bad memories.

"We will see when the time comes, my first and only concern is killing Towers. The emeralds for Eggman can wait…" I saw her ears perk up.

"Well it's funny you say that, I was thinking maybe instead of going back to work for Eggman, maybe we can just work together, you and I, you know?"

I studied her waiting to see the smile and hear the laugh, but instead she had a serious face.

"Hmph, I haven't seen you in battle bat, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know if we'd be good partners or not."

She smiled, surprising me. "I'll prove my worth, just give me a chance."

I shook my head. "Give you a chance and have you die on my watch? No, I have enough blood on my hands already."

She leaned closer to me before she spoke. "Jeez Shady, it almost sounds like you really care about me."

"Don't be silly, I don't know you enough to care about you bat. I don't know anything about you other than the fact that you're name is Rouge, you used to be a GUN agent, and you love Knuckles."

I could tell my serious response caught her off guard, then she decided to catch me off guard with a response of her own.

"Then get to know me."

I met her emerald eyes, seeing how serious she was, I decided to buy into it.

"Okay bat, over time I'll get to know you, and maybe, I'll let you get to know me… if you're lucky." I said with a slight smirk as I stood up and walked back inside. She followed close behind. I walked and sat on the couch, and she sat right next to me. I saw her expression, and could tell she wasn't gonna leave me alone.

"Is something wrong?" I asked with a huff.

"I wanna earn your trust, tell me how I can do it."

I almost laughed, but I quickly stopped myself. "I don't know how easy it is for others to just open up and trust you, but I'm not everyone else. In fact, I've only ever trusted two people… and their both dead." My voice trailed off and I watched her expression change.

"Do you wish to be alone?" she asked quietly.

"No need, I'm going into the city to get supplies, make a list of things you need." I laid down, closing my eyes.

Rouge, who was now standing, walked off into the kitchen, shortly after I heard her begin writing things down. After a few moments, I heard her footsteps come closer, then I felt her move my legs as she sat on the couch. She placed my legs on top of her lap, then tapped me to open my eyes. She handed me the list, and it was a _long_ list.

"Surely you don't need all of this." I said in a disappointed voice, but Rouge seemed persistent.

"No, I actually do need that stuff, in fact, we both need that stuff if we plan on staying here together until the heat dies down."

I raised a brow then shook my head in amazement.

"Fine bat, I'll get the items. I'll be back within a day." I grabbed the chaos emerald and lifted it to use chaos control, but she quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me down.

"Be careful, we're a team now ya know?"

"I don't need to be, I'm the superior life form, nobody on this planet can even challenge me. Stop worrying about me, I can take care of myself." I pulled away and caused chaos control, finding myself outside of a Walmart.

Rouges POV

"I can take care of myself." Shadow pulled out of my grip and within the blink of an eye, he was gone.

 _Just yesterday he was so weak he couldn't even walk, now he's talking all big like he's the shit. Of course I'm gonna worry about him… he didn't see how bad he actually was yesterday._

I stood and walked into the kitchen, I began cleaning the dishes me and Shadow had used when I heard something on the TV that caused me to shift my focus to it.

"Breaking news coming out of Station Square, the most wanted hedgehog in the country has been spotted going into a local Walmart. My sources at the scene say he's not taking any hostages, but is simply shopping for groceries. GUN has begun to surround the building, let's take a live look at what's going on." The camera turned from the reporter to a live helicopter view of the store. GUN truly did have the place surrounded, Commander Towers was seen sitting on a tank, commanding his agents. _Damn Shadow, you couldn't have picked a more secluded store besides Walmart? Oh what am I kidding, that Hedgehog doesn't know anything about this planet._ Suddenly the agents on the TV began to enter the store with rifles. I knew it wasn't gonna be pretty, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Much to my surprise, after about 10 minutes of waiting for something to explode, the troops walked back out empty handed. I suddenly heard a loud thud behind me and turned to find the ebony hedgehog standing in the kitchen, he had landed and knocked over the table in his haste, his arms were hanging by his side as he carried around 20 bags full of supplies.

"Not that I need it, but some help would be nice bat." He called out, placing the bags across the floor.

I didn't even answer, I just quickly ran over and hugged him, it was my first instinct. When they came out empty handed, I kinda assumed they killed him in the store.

He clearly didn't expect the hug, because he pushed off me almost instantly.

"Listen bat, you're too touchy for you own good sometimes, now help me move this shit."

I felt my face grow hot, I wasn't blushing, but I found myself angry. I tried to hold back, but I had no filter.

"FIRST OF ALL YOU HARDASS, I THOUGHT YOU DIED, SO WHEN I SAW YOU I OBVIOUSLY HUGGED YOU, SECONDLY, YOU HUGGED ME EARLIER TODAY, SO DONT ACT LIKE I HAVE SOME SORT OF DISEASE IF I TOUCH YOU, AND MY NAME IS ROUGE, NOT FUCKING BAT! ON TOP OF ALL THAT, YOU WERE ACTUALLY BEING VERY CARING EARLIER-"

He grabbed my arm, I realized I kinda blacked out and found myself pointing at him as I was talking.

He spoke to me, his voice was cold, yet calm.

"Look. Sorry if I offended you, but don't mistake my kindness I showed earlier. I'm not a nice person, you wanna get to know me? This is me, I'm distant from people, I don't care about anyone, and I definitely won't hesitate to hurt anyone who gets in my way." He stared deeply into me, I felt weak looking into his crimson eyes. He sounded so harsh, his face showed anger, yet his eyes screamed pain. He was hiding something. He released my arm and walked off towards the couch.

"Shadow…" I tried to grab him before he walked off, but I wasn't quick enough. i knew deep down he was suppressing feelings, but I had no idea what for. I quietly picked up the bags one by one and placed them into the appropriate cabinets.

Shadows POV

 _Stupid bat, she had some nerve._ I thought to myself as I began to sit down on the couch, then I glanced over and saw her putting things into the cabinets, I decided to check on something. I walked out onto the balcony with my emerald and chaos controlled back to Eggman's base. Once inside the control room, I noticed everything had been searched through and trashed. _GUN was clearly looking for something._ I walked around looking for signs of Jessica and Eggman, and eventually I found a clue. It was the most obvious of clues, but a clue no less. It was a note from Jessica.

 _Shadow, GUN took Eggman and the emeralds, I managed to get away, I returned just to place this note in hopes you'll find it. I know you're goal is to kill Towers, but I think he's planning on using the doctor to get to you. I'm safe, I'm leaving the city for a while to live with my family until things calm down, I hope you and Rouge are okay… and please, take care of this mess. I know I tried to convince you to take it easy, but you need to make sure he's stopped… he's been manipulating the people for years, and you're truly the only one that can stop him. Take care Shadow - Jessica._

I decided to keep the note, I chaos controlled back to Rouges safehouse. I landed on the balcony, once I entered I found the bat laid out on the couch, fast asleep. _She has a lot of nerve to sleep in my spot._ I went over to shake her awake, then something stopped me. I was standing right over her, arm placed on her shoulder ready to shake, but I couldn't. _Goddamnit._ I slowly lifted my hand off her and sat in the floor next to her, glancing over at the TV. She had it muted, but it was still on. I watched as they showed Eggman on the TV, and I quickly grabbed the remote and tried to turn the volume up. _Damn remote, how does this thing work._ Eventually I hit the right button, but the topic had changed.

"Grrrr, FUCK!" I threw the remote off to the side, then froze when I realized how loud I had been. Much to my surprise, Rouge was still sound asleep. I quietly calmed myself, then glanced behind me to make sure she was truly asleep. She sure appeared to be asleep. _Ugh, why do I feel bad for how I snapped on her earlier?_ Suddenly there was a knock coming from the door. _Shit._ I slowly leaned back against the couch and crept towards the door. I peered through the eye hole to spot Knuckles on the other side of the door. _Great, now this is exactly what I looked forward to, spending my night having to listen to these two._ I walked over and shook Rouge awake, she slowly blinked her eyes and then stretched out.

"Hmmmm, Shady, you must need something." she said in a tired tone. "What is it, need your bed back? You know you coulda gone and slept in my room." She held a seductive tone.

"Cut it out, Knuckles is at the door, he's obviously here for you not me."

I watched her eyes widen, she looked excited. She hopped up and opened the door.

"Ah Rouge, I figured you'd be here since you left Eggman's base." He studied the bat in her comfy clothing, then glanced back and saw me leaning against the counter, I was drinking some coffee.

"Wait! What the hell are you doing with him?" I watched as he stared me down and Rouge glared back towards me with a smile, then she winked.

 _Uh oh._

She turned back around and pushed him out of the doorway.

"For your information, you're the one that only wanted me for sex, so I went and got me a REAL man!" She slammed the door and locked it quickly. She ran over and looked out the window like a child, then began cracking up with laughter.

I on the other hand stood there astonished. _Did she just call me her man._

After she calmed down she walked over and sat next to me on one of the bar stools by the counter.

"Thanks for not blowing up and saying you're not my boyfriend, I just wanted him to be out of my life already, you know?"

I nodded, now understanding the plot behind her scheme.

I walked over to the couch and lifted the cushion. I grabbed Rouges phone I had taken the night before and gave it back to her.

"You seem to be at peace with it now." I said as I handed it over. She simply smiled and made herself a cup of coffee.

"So, I know the heat hasn't exactly died down, but I think we should plan on getting the rest of the Emeralds before we do anything else, we no longer have to worry about Eggman, and the commanders time will come." She poked at my chest fur, I stopped her the first few times but once she proceeded to keep doing it, I gave in and let her have a moment.

"Oh would ya look at that, someone's learning who the real boss is around here!" She said in a sly tone. I felt my ears perk up as she spoke. _She really is testing me isn't she…_

"Ba-... Rouge, I don't think you wanna test me today." I sighed of relief noticing I almost called her bat. I figured if me and her were gonna work together, I shouldn't blatantly disrespect her.

"Oh good save Shady, and if you ask nicely, maybe I'll stop!" She continued poking my chest. _Or I could do this._

I quickly grabbed her hand and locked her against the wall. I held her tightly as she struggled to move, then I realized the position I put us in. I had her arms pinned above her head, I sat just inches away from her face as I held her in place, my body leaned against hers. She quickly took notice of how embarrassed I got, and she exposed it.

"My my Shady, the way you're blushing tells me someone's got a crush!" she had that seductive tone again.

I released her and pulled back immediately, sitting back down and looking away from her. _I don't even wanna know what a crush is._

I felt her wrap her arm around my shoulder but I quickly broke free from her hold. She sat next to me and pulled me towards her.

"Listen, why're you acting so scared of me?" She asked in a more serious tone. "You act like you've never been around a girl before."

 _I haven't, not like whatever that was._

"What I have and haven't done is none of your concern!" I glanced over and noticed her smiling. "What is there to smile about?"

"Heh, I bet you've never kissed a girl before have ya Shady?"

I saw the smirk she wore. _Great._

"No. I haven't." I answered plainly. To my surprise she actually looked shocked.

"I'll make sure I keep that in mind." she said as she got up and walked to the fridge.

I simply watched how she walked. So confident in her step.

I simply shook my head and decided to move on from whatever had happened.

"So, with the doctor captured and the commander doing whatever, what makes you think we need the emeralds?"

She returned from the fridge with a cup of yogurt and sat next to me.

"Truly? I just want the emeralds, but I know they make you stronger, and I bet that would be a sight to see." She took a bite of the yogurt then smirked with satisfaction.

"Next time, you're the one going shopping, there was too many damn flavors." I crossed my arms as she let out a laugh.

"Alright, so what do you wanna do Shadow? Get the rest of the emeralds or get the commander?"

I sat in silence pondering what would be best before I dared to speak.

"We should get the emeralds just in case, the doctor knew where they were but I assume GUN took the map." I glanced over as she pulled the map out of one of her bags she had in the floor. She handed it over with a smile on her face.

"I don't even wanna know." I said as I opened it and glanced at the locations circled.

"Let's get the ones GUN has last, let's start with the one in the vault under the waterfall."

Rouge simply nodded in agreement as we began to prepare for the next emerald.

 _Chapter 4 in the books, you guys actually won't see this chapter alone for a few reasons. I'll upload it along with chapter 5 because this chapter was the shortest of all the chapters so far, and it felt kinda lackluster to me, but I didn't wanna force myself to write more than was needed. This chapter mainly revolved around Rouge and Shadow struggling to find a common ground in this "friendship" their slowly developing. One last quick note, in an earlier chapter when Rouge and Shadow "robbed" the jewelry store, I never mentioned what color the emerald was. I know it's a small detail, but since I plan on bringing it back into play I figured I clarify which emeralds have been found. As of the end of this chapter, Shadow only has the green emerald. GUN took the two Eggman had, which was the blue one and the unnamed color(let's go with white.) Chapter 5 will be like a normal chapter so be sure to read it once you get a chance!_


	5. Chapter 5 - Road Trip?

Chapter 5 - Road Trip?

I found myself on top of a grassy hill, overlooking the city below me. I was deep in thought.

 _It's been a week since me and Rouge decided to plan our next attack. Everything was finally in play, we decided to go for one of the two emeralds in station square. I have to admit, after being asleep for 50 years, I never thought I'd find someone to remotely get close to after what happened to Maria… but I found myself daily spending more time with Rouge. She sure knows how to annoy me, but for some odd reason I actually like how she messes with me. I've been struggling recently, I don't know if it's best to keep up with these things that have been happening, or if I should stay distant. I don't think I'm ready to let someone in… not yet._

I broke away from my thoughts just as Rouge appeared behind me.

"Ready handsome?" she said running up next to me, glancing down at a set of stores.

"Let me run you through the plan once more." I pointed towards the nearest store. "You will enter and act as if you have been attacked. Once you have everyone focused on you, give me the signal and I'll chaos control to the back of the store and search for the emerald."

"Do I look like I've been attacked?"

I glanced over and saw she had a black eye.

"Rouge! What the hell happened?" I expected a serious reply, but all I got back was her trying to hide her giggles.

"Shady, I appreciate your concern, but it's just makeup to make it look that way." she said with a bright smile.

I simply stared in amazement. "You're very talented, maybe when this is all said and done you should become an artist."

I glanced back over to the store, focusing back on the mission.

"Let's get this over with shall we?" I said with a deep breath, waiting for Rouge to head down.

"Not gonna wish me good luck?" she said in a joking tone.

I simply glanced at her slightly. "You don't need it."

I saw her face light up. "Oh now you know we're getting that emerald!" she said in a confident tone, flying down toward the store.

 _I guess complimenting her skill was the right approach. I shouldn't make a habit of it._

I decided to sit and watch for a while when suddenly a noise behind me grew closer and closer. Eventually I felt something on top of my head, I shook myself and found a tiny creature flying in front of me.

"Get lost pest." I said coldly

The tiny creature frowned. "Chao chao!"

I raised my brow as I heard footsteps approaching behind me. I turned and saw a small tan rabbit approaching me.

"Mister I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen a Chao around here? He's very tiny and he's blue with yellow marks on him, and he can fly!" she had to be no older than 6, she was very young.

I turned to point at the flying thing that was there a moment ago, but it had vanished. I turned back around and knelt down towards the rabbit.

"What's your name little girl." I watched as she took a step back once I spoke, my voice had that effect on people.

"Cream sir, Cream the rabbit!" She said after a moment, walking back towards me slowly.

"Hey Cream, I'm a little busy right now, but if you don't mind waiting a few minutes I'll happily help you find your little friend." I placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

She smiled and nodded.

"Stay here, okay?" I said as I turned and saw Rouge giving me the signal. I pulled out the chaos emerald and quickly teleported into the back. Much to my surprise, the back door was already opened. _Hmph, that's strange._

I glanced around until I found a small safe inside the wall. _Great, now only if Rouge weren't distracting the entire store she could help me._

I played around with the dial on the safe until I heard the door creek behind me. I quickly turned to find a tall green crocodile wearing a golden chain, headphones, a black collared t-shirt, and some blue jeans. His eyes widened as he saw me standing by the safe.

"Woah hey, you're that hedgehog that's been on the news! Shadow right? Oh wait until the guys find out about this! My first big case is gonna be capturing Shadow!" The crocodile smiled widely and looked down at me. I simply huffed and turned back towards the safe

"Hey buddy what's your problem, didn't you hear me?" the crocodile persisted.

I slowly turned and met his eyes, I watched him shiver as he glared into mine.

"First big case, what are you, a detective or something?" I asked in my monotone voice.

"Well… ye-yeah. I work down at the Chaotix Agency. In fact, I own the Chaotix Agency, so you're dealing with the big guns mister!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Big guns? You wouldn't stand a chance against me, you said you've seen the news right? You know what i'm capable of, so why don't you make yourself useful and get lost." I pointed towards the door, but he persisted and waved for someone in the doorway to come in.

"You again?" I said in an annoyed voice. Sure enough, Sonic was making an appearance.

"Yeah Shadow, now that I know who you are, you're in for a world of trouble. Why're you after the chaos emeralds you phony freak?!"

I felt my blood boil as he spoke.

"Sonic, I assure you I hold too much power to be anything but the real thing. Don't make me embarrass you in front of your oversized friend!"

"HEY!" The crocodile called out.

 _I've had enough of this, hope Rouge is ready to go loud._

I quickly chaos speared the safe and saw the light blue emerald sitting in the safe. I grabbed it and slipped it into the bag on my back, suddenly Sonic charged me and he flew along with me through the wall. As the smoke cleared and the coughing stopped, I stood and saw the entire store staring at me and Sonic. Rouge was speechless, standing there frozen. I slid the bag off my back and tossed it to her.

"Get out of here Rouge, I'll see you back at home." I focused my attention onto the blue hedgehog.

"ROUGE? You're working with this guy? What's gotten into yo-" his sentence was cut short once I flew and landed a hard gut wrenching punch. He sat on his hands and knees gasping for air.

"She's mature enough to make her own decisions, worry about the problems in front of you faker." I waved Rouge off and she ran out the store.

"Vector… chase after her." Sonic called out to the crocodile.

Vector ran from the store and chased Rouge.

 _No way Rouge lets him catch her._

I grabbed the hedgehog by one of his quills and held him in front of me.

"Time to return the favor!" I yelled as I punched him through the glass window in front of the store. He skidded across the street, cars slamming on the breaks and blaring horns at him.

I walked out of the store and stood over him, placing my foot on his neck.

"Let's make one thing very clear Sonic, I'm the ultimate hedgehog, come at me again and I won't hold back. You've been warned." I released my foot from his neck and glanced around at everyone. I noticed a chao flying by. I quickly snatched it and chaos controlled back up onto the hill. Once I landed, I was greeted by the rabbit with her jaw dropped onto the floor.

"You… you hurt mister Sonic… but you got Chao back!? Are you good or bad mister?"

I turned and glanced back at her, holding the chaos emerald in hand.

"I'm Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog. Chaos control now!"

In a flash I was gone, leaving the rabbit alone with her Chao.

Once back at Rouges safehouse, I found her on the couch, laid out in her pajamas already comfortable. She had the light blue emerald in her hands, studying the jewel.

I walked behind the couch and leaned over, startling her slightly.

"Nice isn't it?" I said in a calmer voice, something about the environment of being in the house calmed me.

"Oh you're damn right, funny you say that, this is the only emerald of the seven I have never held before today." she said with a laugh after, then she handed it over to me, but I refused.

"No, you said we're a team. I'm _trusting_ you to keep it safe, don't make me regret it."

She stood quickly and jumped over the back of the couch to meet me with a hug.

"AHH SHADOW! You don't know how happy that makes me, you trust me!" She wore a great big smile, her eyes were glowing with joy. I didn't return the hug, but I stood there absorbing it.

"Please don't make me regret this." I said in an annoyed tone. She picked up on my tone and released me.

"Sorry Shady, just wasn't expecting that!" She jumped back onto the couch and held the emerald tightly.

"Once you and I are done with all this, I'll let you keep 6 of the 7, and you can do what you wish with them." I climbed over and sat next to her, my words caught her attention once more.

"You wouldn't know it just by looking at ya, but you sure know how to get a girls attention, oh what am I saying you're some eye candy too." She started in a joking tone, then finished in a seductive one.

I just shook my head and leaned back. We sat for a moment in silence before she spoke.

"Shadow… you said once we're done, does that mean after you kill Towers that you're gonna leave?" her tone had changed to an almost sad tone. I opened my eyes and saw the way she looked at me. She looked like she was trying to hide her emotion, but I somehow saw right through it. She was truly sad.

"When the time comes we will see…" I said closing my eyes back. I heard her let out a disappointed sigh before I felt her lean back on the couch. I opened one eye slightly to check on her.

"You know, I actually like having you around. I didn't think I would." she said in a quiet tone.

I turned and watched as she sat there, trying to ignore my look.

"Rouge, if you really want, I'll stay once this is all over. Stop sounding so sad, you act like I'm gonna die or something." I said with a slight chuckle, which caused her to turn and face me quickly.

"Did you just laugh?!"

The small smirk on my face went stone cold.

"No, it was a chuckle at best." I said harshly.

Her smile widened anyway. "You should chuckle more often, it's kinda cute."

 _Great, now I'll never chuckle again._

I simply scoffed and closed my eyes back. I felt her watching me for a moment then the feeling stopped. After a moment I heard her breathing calm down. She had fallen asleep next to me. _She sure has a habit of sleeping in my spot doesn't she. This has gotta stop… starting tomorrow._

I let myself drift off to sleep, and before I knew it I was consumed into a deep sleep.

The next morning came quickly. I woke up and noticed how different my body felt. I glanced down and found myself laid out instead of sitting up, and Rouge was laying with half her body next to me and half her body on me. _What the fuck?_

I flicked her forehead and watched as her bright eyes opened and peered at me. It took her a moment to realize the position she was in. She quickly rolled off me into the floor, trying to hide her blush.

"What was that all about." I called out to her as she stood next to me.

"I… errr, I had a nightmare and you wouldn't wake up.. so I kinda slept with you… I know that's weird but I was too scared to sleep alone."

She went to walk away but I quickly grabbed her arm.

"I will only allow this if you have a nightmare. Don't make this a habit." I released her and rolled back over. I laid in silence for a while until she returned in a haste.

"Shit Shadow, we gotta move like now!" she yanked me up quickly. Normally I would've snapped but I heard how frantic she was and knew something was up.

"Rouge what's going on?" I said as I stood and watched her toss me my bag full of my clothes.

"I forgot about that damn detective, I know he didn't seem like a problem but they're actually pretty damn good at finding people."

I sat there a moment before speaking.

"The crocodile said I was gonna be his first case."

She stopped and stared at me. "First _big_ case Shadow, Vector is responsible for over 1000 arrests alone, not including what the rest of his agents are responsible for."

My eyes widened, quickly grabbing my bag.

"Well, where will we go?"

She grabbed my arm and spoke. "I have a plan but you need to trust me. Chaos control us to a place called "Westopilos Wheels and Deals.""

I pulled out the emerald and thought of the name as I teleported us. We landed in a small dealership.

"Shadow, listen carefully. Go down that hall and to the left there's a bathroom. Go hide and wait for me to come get you, I'm gonna get use a ride."

 _A ride? Why would we need a car?_ I didn't have time to ask, she was already walking off. I dashed into the bathroom and waited. _We don't need a car, I can teleport us. We can't live in a car… can we? Where would we sleep? Would that even be comfortable?_ I thought back and forth for almost 30 minutes before Rouge came back. She walked into the bathroom and grabbed my arm once more.

"Okay, chaos control us to the parking lot."

Without hesitation I did as she asked. One we landed again, I saw a big, funny looking truck in front of us.

"What kind of truck is this?" I asked her, naturally curious.

She laughed, pushing me towards the door.

"It's an RV Shadow, it's like a home you can drive. Go inside and I'll show you."

I opened the door and entered. As soon as I walked in there was a bed, couch, bathroom, shower, and kitchen all within a few feet of each other. I sat on the couch and glanced at the bat.

"So, this is our home?"

"For now." She said with a smile, then she walked over to the driver seat and turned on the RV.

"Take a nap, it'll be awhile before I get us to a quiet spot."

I sat back and got comfortable, after a few failed attempts of sleep I stood and sat in the passenger seat.

"Where'd you learn to drive?" I asked, glancing over towards the bat who seemed bored out of her mind. My question seemed to peak her interest.

"When I was younger, my father taught me… before…" she seemed to trail off. I noticed how sad she grew and figured something must've happened to her father.

"I'm sorry, I won't bring it up again."

"No Shadow it's okay, I just haven't thought of him in a long time… he was never really there."

I noticed she wasn't even sad, it was more anger. In the short amount of time I had been around her, this was truly the first time I saw her angry. She argued and threw fits here and there, but she darkened when we got onto the topic… she seemed a lot like _me_ in a way.

I didn't know how to respond, so I just sat there in silence, watching out the window as she pulled us up near a forest.

"The trees should give us enough cover from anyone who could be looking for us, we should probably move every few days but i'm dead right now, I need some sleep."

I nodded and let her walk off, I stayed seated and kept examining our surroundings. The forest was quiet, the only noise came from Rouge moving around in the back and rain hitting the window.

I was still so new to the planet, I found myself studying every little detail of the woods. _Maria would've loved it here._ I saw animals hiding under the branches, shielding them from the rain. I watched as the lightning from the coming storm lit up the sky. Thunder rumbled soon after. I sighed and turned around to find Rouge, she was laid out on the bed on her phone. She had changed out of her normal attire and had on a white t-shirt and some shorts she sleeps in. She seemed occupied, so I went along and laid down on the couch, closing my eyes and thinking about what's next. _2 emeralds down, 5 to go. One more in Station Square, Sonic's friend, I think the doctor said his name was Tails, has one, GUN has two of them, and the last location isn't on the map… where could it be_.

"Whatcha thinking about so hard?"

I didn't bother opening my eyes.

"How did you know I was thinking and not sleeping?"

I heard her giggle and move around on the bed. _This oughta be good._

"You wouldn't know this, but when you sleep you snore just a tiny bit." she began laughing again.

If my eyes were open I would've rolled them, but I simply sighed and rolled over.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." I huffed.

"C'mon Shady, you need to learn to trust me."

I hesitated to even speak, but I decided this was a conversation that needed to happen. I sat up and glanced over at her, she was on the arm of the couch, now moving onto the couch next to me.

"Rouge, I have nothing against you… other than the fact you tried to have me killed… but you didn't know at the time what the stakes were so I let it slide. Look, I haven't known you long enough to just open up."

"Shady unless you're thinking about something super serious then it shouldn't be so hard to talk to me."

I hated to admit it, but she was right. After exchanging a few awkward glances, I huffed and began to speak.

"I was just thinking about what's next. There's one emerald that the doctor didn't mark, you know? That's pretty important."

She only laughed in response, placing a hand on my shoulder as she calmed herself.

"Listen, it is important, but why are you so business first, don't you ever think about anything else?"

My ears perked up. "Like what?"

"Anything really, do you think about what you wanna do after this is all done? Do you think about Eggman or Jessica? Or maybe even me?"

She definitely caught my attention.

"In all honesty? I think about Maria a lot… I think about the future more than I should too… and I think of you and Jessica more than I do the doctor."

She smiled, then gave me a hug.

"I think about you too, I just hope once this is all done we can be friends, you know?"

"I'm not the friend type, but you carry yourself better than anyone else I've met so far, so you're okay in my book." I leaned back on the couch, running my hand through my quills. She followed me back, laying out across the couch.

"You're not sleeping on the couch with me again, there's simply no excuse when the bed is that big and it's right next to the couch."

I saw her eyes focus in on me.

"If the beds so big, then why don't we _share_ it." once again, her seductive tone returned. I shifted slightly, she was trying to get under my skin again, the way she laid out across me and started rubbed her legs against my hand.

"You like playing games don't you bat?" I said coldly, yet she didn't seem fazed by it at all.

"Only when it comes to you."

Deciding she was gonna take it too far, I picked her up and carried her to the bed and dropped her.

"I do love a man that's controlling."

"Hmph, you've had your fun, I'm going to get some fresh air." I turned and grabbed my chaos emerald, then walked out into the rain. _Good thing I can't get sick, but fuck it's cold out here._ I walked only a few steps before Rouge opened the door behind me.

"Shadow! Come back, it's too cold out here for you to be moody. I'll leave you alone, I promise!"

I turned and looked back, her eyes reflected from the small amount of light emitting from the RV.

"Rouge, I'll be fine. I just want time to think." I turned once more and began walking, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. I felt her eyes watch me until I was out of sight. I walked for close to 15 minutes before stopping. I jumped up and climbed a tall tree, overlooking the forest. I didn't sit directly at the top, but close to it. _Hm, Maria, I don't know what to do. I wouldn't admit it, but I actually like Rouges company… ever since I lost you, I've been so lonely. I don't remember much from that long sleep, but I remember how confused and lost I was when I woke up. Once I remembered my past, I remembered just how hurt I truly am. I miss you more and more everyday Maria. I hope to see you again someday._ I changed my train of thought. _I probably shouldn't stay out here too much longer, Rouge seemed worried earlier. Sounds like she's had it rough too… with her dad not being around._ Then it hit me. _At least she has a family… I'm simply a creation. The closest thing I've had to family is Maria, and she's gone. I started getting close to the doctor and now he's captured, and now I feel myself getting close to Rouge… what'll happen to her?_ I felt my anger rise. _No… she doesn't deserve it. Maria didn't deserve it, but Rouge is here now… if I'm going to keep her around, I'm going to protect her at all costs… I won't let her die because of me. Not like everyone else._ I grabbed the chaos emerald and used chaos control. I found myself in front of the RV, Rouge was sitting at the front window watching for me to return.

I walked in and glanced over towards her, she didn't bother to look back at me.

"Enjoy your alone time?" she said in a cold tone, similar to mine. I sat on the bed and glanced over at her.

"No, actually I didn't. I came to some realizations while I was gone though."

Her flat ears perked up, she turned her head slightly to where she could see me sitting.

"Well, wanna talk about it?"

"One day, _I promise._ "

The word promise made her face me, she was shocked.

"One day huh? Sounds like you plan on sticking around!" She stood and walked over, sitting next to me on the bed.

"Maybe for a while, we will see as time passes." I said with a sigh. Deep down, I felt good talking to her and opening up a little, but another part of me felt weak letting someone in. _I hope I don't regret this._

I did something even I wasn't sure I was capable of doing. I pulled her into a deep embrace. She returned it almost immediately, not asking a question about it. Usually I would be the one to pull away, but in that moment I didn't. I don't know why, but we sat there for a few moments before I realized how long it had gone on and pulled away. She had a smirk that spoke 1000 words without her even making a peep. She sighed, sounding relieved, then she climbed into bed and laid down, glancing and watching me.

"You gonna be up for a while?" she questioned.

I shook my head no. "I don't necessarily need sleep, but I'm a bit drained. I'll sleep soon."

She smiled and patted the spot next to her.

"Listen, I won't bite you, and no funny business, okay? I promise!"

I studied her to see if she was trying to play another game. _This is definitely a trick._

"Rouge, if I sleep will you stop asking me to sleep with you?"

Her smile widened. "Yes handsome." she scooted over, giving me even more space to lay down.

"No funny business?"

"No Shadow, no funny business."

I reluctantly laid back next to her, sliding my shirt off and relaxing.

"My my, I know I slept on your chest last night but I forgot how ripped you are, you might wanna sleep with that on."

I raised my brow and chuckled.

"No, you said no funny business, so you're gonna sit there and do what you promised. Now sleep, we have a lot to do over the next few days."

She stretched out and got under the covers, tossing the covers over me also, then she crawled over next to me and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Is this okay?"

After a deep sigh "Sure." _I will never win with this girl._

She giggled and wrapped her arms around me, I didn't like it at first, but she began to talk to me and distract me from the fact. We talked back and forth for over an hour before she finally dozed off to sleep. I was surprisingly enjoying our conversation, in fact I found myself disappointed to see her fall asleep. _Grow up Shadow, it's no big deal._ I closed my eyes after glancing down to check on the bat, who was now leaning against my chest. _Goodnight, Rouge._

 _Hey guys, since this chapter and chapter 4 were a little bit shorter than chapters 2 and 3, I decided to upload them on the same day so you guys would have more to read! I have finals this Friday, then I'm done with school until January, so expect more frequent updates starting in December! Reviews are welcomed, and if you're enjoying the story, feel free to follow to keep up with my messy upload schedule. Next chapter, a rivalry will begin :) be prepared._


	6. Chapter 6 - A Rivalry For The Ages!

_Chapter 6 - A rivalry for the ages_

I was awakened by the sudden clap of thunder. I sat very still, realizing Rouge was still tucked into me, sound asleep. I glanced over at the microwave to see what time it was. 1:31 am. _Jesus, I know I technically don't need sleep, but if i'm gonna try, at least let me get more than 2 hours._ I blinked a few times and let my eyes adjust to the darkness, then I glanced down at Rouge. She was clenching me tighter then she was earlier, then I realized what the problem was. _Shit I stole all the covers._ I slowly slid the covers off me and onto her, sliding out of her grip and sitting up on the side of the bed. I heard her start moving, I prepared to explain myself when I glanced back and saw she had simply rolled over, she was still sound asleep. _Hmph, she won't be awake for another 6 or 7 hours._ I quietly stood and walked out into the now pouring rain, deciding against my better will to grab a jacket, I decided I should just go with the flow. I walked for no more than 5 minutes when I came across some arguing.

"Sonic we're not out here for that hedgehog! We're here for Rouge, we need to bring her back before she spills all of GUNs info."

My ears peaked in interest. _GUN wants Rouge and Sonic is helping them? This hedgehog is gonna be more annoying than I first thought._

"Listen, I get Rouge is the target but I'm telling you Silver, Rouge is working with Shadow! I saw it with my own two eyes."

I was now perched up in a tree as the blue and white hedgehogs walked below me. _Silver? Hmph, just how many hedgehogs are there?_

"Sonic, you know Rouge wouldn't work with the bad guy unless she's been ordered to or she knows something we don't. It's not like you to look on the negative side, what's gotten under your skin?"

I watched from atop as the blue hedgehog paused in the rain. Silver glanced back at him confused.

"Don't act like you haven't seen the news, he's caught me off guard twice now, I need to even the odds with this phony hedgehog."

I quickly dropped down behind the two.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm far too powerful to be a fake Sonic, it sounds like to me you're having trouble admitting defeat. Maybe your friend here can talk some sense into you before I embarrass you again."

Silver quickly stepped between me and Sonic.

"Shadow, don't start a fight out here, you two will cause mass chaos in this forest."

I shot a cold glare towards the white hedgehog.

"Listen here, if you think a mere forest will stop me from destroying this annoying pest of a hedgehog, then you're dead wrong."

Suddenly Sonic lunged at me, but was frozen in mid air. I glanced over to see Silver holding him in place.

"Silver what the hell?!" Sonic yelled out. I took the opportunity as it presented itself, I kicked Sonic so hard that he flew a couple hundred feet. I heard trees snapping and branches breaking as he flew. I fixed my gaze upon Silver.

"You seem more like a challenge, who exactly are you?"

"Listen Shadow, I'd love to get all buddy buddy, but why don't you just tell me where Rouge is and neither of us have to fight!"

I did something I rarely do in a situation like this, I let my guard down.

"You appear to have more common sense than the blue hedgehog, I respect that much about you already. You spoke something earlier that was very true, Rouge isn't working for me because she's being ordered around by those GUN bastards, she's working with me because she knows who the Commander really is. If you're not as stubborn as Sonic, then allow me to show you something."

I pulled out the chaos emerald and grabbed Silvers arm.

"Have you teleported before?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you could say I've done something like that."

I shrugged my shoulders and caused chaos control.

When the light died down, we were on the ARK. He glanced around confused.

"I take it you're not a GUN agent, just helping them out?"

"Yeah… how'd you guess that?"

I walked over to a window that looked out over the Earth.

"If you were after me, or a GUN agent assigned to my case, you'd know something about this place, even if it wasn't the entire truth. This, this is Space Colony ARK. Around 50 years ago, a man by the name of Gerald Robotnik created me in hopes of finding a cure for his sick granddaughter, over time it became more clear I wasn't a cure, but more of a weapon. I'm built to show no emotion or sympathy for anyone who gets in my way, I broke that rule for one person and now she's dead."

I glanced over at Silver, his eyes were wide and he was listening closely.

"The Commander killed everyone on the ARK, the little girl I was created to save, in the end was the one who saved me." I felt the feeling of guilt return, but I couldn't show weakness, so I went back to my stone cold face.

"Jeez Shadow, I'm sorry. Do you have proof the commander did this?"

I nodded. "Rouge has it."

"Take me to her and I'll take the proof to the media and let them expose it."

I sat for a moment. _I don't trust him._

"If you want to expose it, you'll wait for me to bring it to you, I'm not taking you straight to Rouge."

He nodded and studied me.

"Sounds like you two are getting along nicely."

"No, it's simple common sense to not trust your enemy, even if you appear more intelligent than Sonic."

I grabbed his arm and chaos controlled us back to Earth, right in the spot we had left.

 _Shit, I forgot about Sonic._

"Stay here, I'll return." I held up the emerald and chaos controlled to the RV. Once I arrived, Sonic was right outside.

"You've got a lot of nerve faker." I caught his attention, he was just about to open the door, but he stepped down and faced me. He didn't speak a word, he just got into a fighting stance.

Outside POV

Shadow and Sonic both entered fighting stances, Shadow quickly chaos controlled but Sonic was ready this time, placing a swift combo of kicks and punches to Shadows stomach. Shadow shook it off and tackled Sonic in the mood, he began to pound Sonic's face into the ground when Sonic rolled over and was now on top of Shadow, where they went back and forth until Shadow caused chaos control with the two still touching. The two landed on a treetop, fought for balance then fought each other. Sonic caught his balance first and planted a hard kick to the side of Shadows head, causing him to slip off the branch and begin to fall, but he ran back up the tree after regaining himself. He ran and planted a punch just under the jaw of Sonic, causing him to fly up. Since Shadow was moving so fast, he actually flew higher than Sonic, using this to his advantage he used gravity to help him land a hard kick to Sonic's rib cage as he hit the ground with a loud thud. The kick landed so hard that the ground cracked beneath them. Sonic, practically broken, glanced up as Shadow was about to land the final blow when he suddenly passed out. Shadow had done a number on Sonic, but Sonic made sure Shadow took close to equal damage. This was the first time Shadow had truly been tested, and he felt the effects of underestimating his blue rival.

Shadows POV

I felt the cool air hit me like a truck. I regained my senses and finally opened my eyes. The sun was shining bright, here I was lying in the middle of the woods with a blue hedgehog unconscious next to me. _Jesus Silver was right, this forest looks completely different now._ I examined the damage, the ground had a large crack from my kick, I couldn't help but smirk in approval. Tons of trees were down from the constant throwing me and Sonic did back and forth. Once my eyes met the blue hedgehog, I was reminded I truly didn't win, we both fainted.

 _This won't be the last time you see me Sonic, I guarantee it._ I held up my chaos emerald weakly and chaos controlled back to the RV.

Sure enough, Rouge was sitting at the window watching for me when she saw me appear, bloody, bruised and exhausted. She ran out and grabbed my arm as I collapsed to my knees.

"Shadow where the hell have you been? And what the heck happened?"

I relaxed my body a little to catch my balance, then I glanced up into her worried eyes.

"What, this? You should see the other guy." I couldn't help but smirk at her reaction, she tried to hide her laugh since it was a somewhat serious moment.

"Shadow I was really worried about you, where have you been?"

"I had to take care of some things, do me a favor and bring me the disk with Commander Towers on it."

"Why?" she asked as she turned to grab it, but I quickly, but weakly, grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Trust me."

She nodded and quickly ran inside, grabbing the cd and bringing it back to me.

I didn't bother lifting the emerald, I held it by my side and caused chaos control with saying another word. I appeared back with Silver, who was surprisingly still waiting after all this time.

"Shit Shadow you look terrible."

I growled in response, handing him the disk and gripping my emerald once more.

"I'm sure we will cross paths again Silver, make sure you're on the right side of things." I chaos controlled one last time back to the RV, where I found Rouge still standing around waiting for me to return. I was still weak, but I didn't allow myself to collapse this time. I met her angry look and tried to understand what was wrong.

"You're something else Shadow, you have me worried all night and when you do show back up you just leave without a goodbye?"

I slowly walked towards the door but she cut me off, standing in between me and the door.

"Oh noooooo you don't. You can ignore me all you want, but you're not getting mud on the carpet. Let me make you a path to the shower, then you're giving me answers."

She stood there waiting for a response, so I slowly nodded and sat down outside, waiting for her to tell me to enter. _Why was she so worried? Doesn't she know I can handle myself? She's so confusing at times… and that Silver, he was different from Sonic, he seemed more like me, he seemed so out of place. I wonder if Rouge knows anything about him._

"Earth to Shadow, you're showers ready."

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw the bat standing in front of me, holding her hand out.

"You think I need help?"

"I know you do, now stop being such a hard ass, you act like me helping you makes you weak, there's nothing wrong with asking for help Shadow, you may be strong as hell but you can't do everything in life alone, nobody can." She shook her hand for me to grab, which I eventually did. I grabbed her hand and pulled myself up, before walking to the shower I studied the disappointed look in her eye.

"Thank you." was all I said, I turned and went to shower, she followed and closed the RV door behind me. I walked into the tiny bathroom and began to prepare for the shower. I grabbed a towel and quickly hopped in, the water pressure was shit compared to the pressure Eggman's base had. _Listen to me, complaining about water pressure. I'm getting used to living here already._ As the water hit my back and finally warmed up, I just stood leaning against the wall in thought. _Maybe I do have a place on this planet… but maybe everything will be clear after this is all over._ There was suddenly a knock on the door.

"What is it Rouge?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait 10 minutes?" I said annoyed.

"No." her voice was stern, I knew something was up.

I turned the shower off and wrapped the towel around me, then walked into the hallway.

"Well, what's the issue."

She walked over to the couch and sat, while I sat on the bed close by.

"I was watching the news and the video of Command Towers was on there, did you give out the disk?"

"Yes, why?"

"Its working… he's been fired as the GUN Commander, in fact, my old friend Topaz is going to be the Commander since I quit."

I studied her body language, she seemed upset.

"What's bothering you, I thought the Commander being fired would make you happy."

She sat for a moment, rubbing her hand through her white hairs.

"I know this will sound selfish, but I was second in command for the longest. I was supposed to be the GUN Commander after he stepped down."

 _Makes sense._

"Well, since he's no longer with GUN, why don't you go back? They're after me, not you."

She got up and sat next to me, for a moment neither of us spoke.

"Can I be honest with you?" she finally asked.

"I'd prefer that over a lie."

"I kinda got used to having you around, if I go back to GUN full time not only will I likely have to chase you at some point, but I'll hardly see you anymore."

I knew she had grown close to me over the short amount of time we'd been around each other, I warned her about this once we first started to work together, but she didn't listen. I too, grew close to her, and a little part of me wanted her to stick around, but I was too stubborn to ever admit that.

"Just do what makes you happy, GUN is you job, you know? Plus, I'll always be around, we just won't be living together anymore." I stood and walked over towards the RV door. " Pursue your dreams, don't worry about me." I opened the door, but she called out to me and stopped me.

"Shadow, will I see you again?"

I glanced back and slightly smirked.

"Perhaps."

I walked through the door and out into the forest. _Take care of yourself Rouge, I'm sure our paths will cross down the line._

I decided to ignore my fatigue from battle and just sprint off as fast as my legs would carry me. I wanted a new place to explore, a new place to hide away and plan. _Do I truly need the emeralds? I could just go kill Towers now… and I feel bad for Eggman… maybe I should break him out of GUN… I know everyone talks bad about him, but he did nothing but help me in the amount of time I was with him._

I quickly came to a stop as I arrived at a small cabin at the edge of the forest. _Wonder if anyone's home._ I stood for a moment observing the cabin, then walked over towards the door. As I got closer to the front of the cabin, I heard laughing coming from a swing set behind the cabin. There was the pink hedgehog, Amy, with that little rabbit that I helped. I began walking off when I heard the hedgehog call out to me.

"HEY! YOU'RE THAT HEDGEHOG THAT TIED ME UP!" I heard her rapid footsteps approaching, I turned and froze her in place with my gaze.

"So what?" I replied harshly, walking closer to the hedgehog.

"So… you're a jerk!" she attempted to slap me, but I caught her hand before impact.

"Ever try that again and i'll snap both of your hands, got it?"

She was now shivering, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes- Yes sir. Sorry."

I released her and she ran back over to the rabbit, taking her inside away from me. I thought nothing of it and shrugged them from my thoughts as I continued to walk. I eventually came across a waterfall. _Damn, Maria read me stories about how beautiful these things are… she wasn't wrong. Ugh, I wish you were here Maria._

I sat on the edge of the grass, taking my hover skates off and letting my feet sit in the water. The water was cool as the current hit my feet. I laid back in the grass and glanced around from cloud to cloud. _This planet isn't so bad after all… I just wish you could've seen it Maria. I wish I could've done more._ Then I suddenly flashed back to what I was thinking when I ran out on Rouge. _**As long as I'm with her, I will protect her. I won't let her die too.**_

I sighed, somewhat disappointed with myself eternally. I knew it was possible, but I didn't see it happening so fast, but I found myself caring for the bat. _I wish these thoughts would get out of my head._ I sat up and decided to splash some water on my face. _I need to get moving._ I pulled out one of the chaos emeralds, this time it was the light blue one. I held it up and caused chaos control, teleporting myself to a rooftop in Station Square. I found myself on top of a hotel. _Hmph, I should sneak into one of these rooms and make it a temporary base until I get everything settled._ I snuck into the building through a door on the roof. I crept around for a few minutes before finding a unoccupied room. I found one of the cleaning carts, it had a key card for the rooms on it, so I quickly snatched it and got into the room. _That was lucky._ I walked over and sat down on the bed, thinking about the last few hours. _I wonder if I made the right choice leaving Rouge by herself. I know she's strong, but I still feel like I should've chaos controlled her to GUN then left. Whatever, it's over now._ I leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before I felt myself falling asleep. _Eggman will have to wait until the morning, I need to recover from my battle last night._

Morning came and I was feeling better than ever. _The chaos emeralds helped me heal faster, I'm impressed._

This was the first time I had more than one chaos emerald constantly on me, I felt my power double with them together. I had an idea of what I could do with all seven, I'd be invincible. _Hmmm, that reminds me… maybe I should get the emeralds before I save the doctor. It would be beyond easy if I had all seven._

I walked over to the window and studied the city as I pondered my options. _I'll get more emeralds first, plus I wanna go ahead and finish Commander Towers._ I turned from the window and decided to flip on the news to see if anything had happened. Sure enough, there was a report on Rouge returning to GUN. She and Topaz would share command rights and lead together. _Good for you Rouge. Looks like we will see each other again… when I come for Eggman and those emeralds._ I figured the report would be over after that, but the reporter said Rouge made a statement to the public.

"Hello people of Station Square and the surrounding cities, you probably know me as Agent Rouge, but today I come to you as Commander Rouge. I have a few comments to make publicly about the state of GUN and our priorities. We are willing to pay up to $5,000 for good information on the location of the former GUN Commander, known as Commander Towers. Secondly, we would like to make it very clear that Shadow the Hedgehog is _not_ a threat to the public. After a long review and evidence leaking out about who the former commander really was, I think it's fair that we all give Shadow a chance like we did with Sonic. Stand with me as we shape our future one day at a time! Oh, and one last thing, Shadow, if you're hearing this somewhere, we'd love to have you at GUN." she flashed a smile and the camera returned to the reporter.

 _Sorry Rouge, I don't plan on working for anyone until I get my shit together. I'm coming for you Towers… but first, I'm gonna find another emerald. The map said there was one more in Station Square, so I'll sense it once I get close._ I stood and turned the TV off, then crept out the room and onto the roof, where I ran down the side of the building and ran throughout the streets. I hopped from lamppost to lamppost, tree to tree and even hopped cars occasionally. After no success, I climbed a tall building to check my surroundings and think. _It's gotta be around here somewhere… why is this so difficult._ I sat there for a moment examining the city when I heard a cry for help. _Don't even think about it._ I turned and started to walk away when I heard it more clearly.

"Help! Jesus someone please!"

 _Fuck._

I stopped and followed the screams, moving quicker as the screams grew louder. I turned the corner of the street and found myself down a dark alleyway. There were 4 figures total. 3 wore all black, including a hood over their heads and gloves, while the 4th was a lavender colored cat. She wore a purple coat with white fuzzy gloves, white pants, and pink shoes with white stripes.

I didn't say a word, I quickly ran and jumped off the wall, jumping into a spin dash. I connected against two of the three who fell, the remaining one held a gun to the cats head. She suddenly had flames emitting for my hands, burning the gun right out of the robbers hand. She quickly knocked him down and helped me fend off the other robbers. After a few swift kicks and precise hits, they were running off crying for help themselves. After I settled and caught my breath, I turned my attention to the lavender cat, who was now leaning against a large dumpster holding her arm. She was bleeding pretty bad. I calmly walked over and applied pressure to it, noticing how she winced when I did it.

"Sorry." Was simply all I said, continuing to apply pressure.

"No… thank you sir, I don't believe I've met you before, but you sure look the hedgehog who's had a controversial last couple of weeks." She said looking me up and down."

"Hmph, yeah, sadly that's me." I let go and tore off a piece of my shirt, using it as a bandage for her wound.

"You need to get this cleaned and stitched, but that'll hold for now."

I began to walk away but she grabbed my arm.

"Hey, at least let me reward you for helping me."

I shook my head no.

"Consider it my good deed of the day."

She still had a grip on my arm.

"At least tell me your name."

I started down at my arm until she realized she still held me and released me.

"It's Shadow, Shadow the hedgehog. Who might you be?"

She smiled. "In my homeland, Princess Blaze, but here I'm simply Blaze."

I was surprised, but I couldn't tell if she was being serious.

"Princess?" I asked blankly.

She laughed and reached into the bag she was carrying, pulling out a photo of her on the throne, wearing a crown and everything.

"I get that reaction a lot, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I actually traveled through time to get where I am, a hedgehog named Silver brought me here to help the planet, and to save our future."

I simply nodded not exactly understanding what she meant by all of that.

"Well, if we happen to run into each other again I'll be sure to treat you like royalty princess." I nodded and walked off, leaving her to collect herself and continue on her way. As I exited the ally, I saw a large crowd gathering across the street. Sonic and Knuckles were in the middle of the bunch. I watched from a rooftop above.

 _Look at how pathetic these humans are, sometimes I feel bad for them, staring at a hedgehog eat for amusement._ I shook my head in disbelief and walked off, continuing my search for the chaos emerald. It wasn't long before I saw another familiar face, one I definitely wasn't expecting. _Jessica? I thought she was leaving town…_

She was leaving the breakfast diner when she saw me and waved me over. I skated over to see what was going on.

"Jessica, I'm glad to see you're okay, but I thought you were leaving town."

"I don't need to now since Commander Towers is no longer in command. I'm assuming you had something to do with that."

I nodded with a slight smirk on my face.

"I'm proud of you Shadow, you did the right thing, plus you kinda cleared your name. I think people are still scared of you, but stick around and help them, they'll warm up to you." she patted me on the back as we began to walk together.

"I'm still hunting Towers, then I'll worry about my public image. I won't sleep until I make him pay Jessica."

"Shadow…"

I felt her hand on my shoulder but I quickly shook it off.

"Enough!" I yelled, causing her to step back. "Look, just stay out of my way, I'm glad you're okay but you can't change my mind so stop trying to. I got a chaos emerald to find so if you'll excuse me." I walked off, leaving her with a crowd of people staring at us. _Don't these humans have better things to do?_

I was suddenly grabbed by one of the people in the crowd. At first it infuriated me that someone would dare snatch me like that, but then I noticed it was Doctor Eggman wearing a disguise.

"A chaos emerald you say? I believe I can help with that!" He said, leading me away from the crowd. I was still in disbelief that he had escaped GUN.

"Doctor, how exactly did you escape?" I asked we walked into a empty alleyway.

"Rouge made the mistake of letting me get some fresh air, that's what she gets for trusting me!" he said with an obnoxious laugh.

"What makes you think I should trust you if you betrayed her doc?" I stood with my arms crossed, watching his face change from happy to serious.

"Oh Shadow, you and I have a similar goal, why would I want to piss you off? You're my best way to beat Sonic! I need you more than you think!"

I simply studied the odd man before deciding to speak.

"Where's the emerald then doctor?"

He reached into his coat and pulled out a purple emerald.

"Here you go, I take it this means we're working together again?"

I took the emerald then backed off.

"Sorry doc, I have my own agenda. Chaos control!"

With a flash, I left the doctor alone in the alley.

"DAMN THAT HEDGEHOG!"

Back in my hotel room that I was secretly occupying, I laid the purple emerald next to the light blue emerald, I always kept the green emerald with me. _I don't need the doctor anymore, I only need to take care of Towers, then I'll see what Rouge wants to do with the emeralds. Since Rouge is the GUN commander now, along with Topaz or whatever her friends name is, I guess I can trust her._

I sat on the bed thinking about what was next. _Maybe paying Rouge a visit won't be a bad idea… she could probably locate the commander faster than I could, I'm sure they have good tech._ I held my green emerald and teleported myself to downtown Westopilos, where the GUN HQ was located. After a few minutes of walking I found myself outside the large concrete walls of the base. I walked up to the base and noticed I couldn't just walk in, there was a button with a speaker next to the wall and a camera look at it. I walked over and hit the button, a loud buzzing noise occurred followed by someone's voice coming through the speaker.

"Please state your name and business."

I stood for a moment then spoke.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, here to see Rouge the Bat."

There was some background noise coming from the other side of the speaker, I thought I heard the voice say "get the guards ready just in case." _Great, I see GUN still has trust issues._ Much to my surprise, the gate opened and Rouge stood there by her lonesome, a smile lighting up her face. She wore a tan uniform with medals hanging from it and a black military cap.

"Hey handsome, I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away." She walked over and hugged me, I didn't return it, but I did whisper in her ear.

"This isn't a social call, I need your help."

She backed away and placed her hand on her hip.

"It's always business with you isn't it? Fine, come on in." She turned and walked off, I followed close behind.

"I'm glad you got your job back." I said after a long silence.

"Me too." She simply replied.

We walked into a large room full of people typing away on computers.

"I'm assuming you want to find Towers?" She asked dryly, me, noticing her tone to be different than it normally was, decided to call her out.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting in a chair next to her. I clearly caught her off guard, because she blushed a little at my question.

"Nothing Shadow, I just wish you were here to see me, every time we're around each other it's strictly business, I wanna hang out, you know?"

I sat gripping the arms of the chair for a moment before speaking.

"Yeah, how about we make a deal?" I watched as her eyes brightened up.

"I'm listening." She leaned across the chair looking at me.

"How about you get me the location of that slimeball Towers and I'll give you a day to do whatever you want together."

"Hm, I'll take that, but you're gonna have to _promise_."

"I promise." I said quietly.

"Sorry hon I didn't catch that, say again?"

"I said… I promise." I said louder, gaining the attention of the room. I watched as her smile grew wide.

"Hm, well let's talk in the briefing room, follow me." she stood and I followed, after a quick walk down the hall we entered a room with a table and about 20 chairs around it. She sat in one and I sat directly across from her.

"Expecting some guests?" I asked in a joking tone, she picked up on it and giggled.

"It's not like you to joke, and no, this is our room where we give out missions, all of our agents are out so I knew it would be empty. I'm supposed to be the one that takes down Towers, but I've known about his location and held out hoping you would show up."

I was surprised to say the least.

"You… lied just to let me get my revenge? You risked the job you wanted so badly for me?"

She blushed a little and nodded.

"Yeah, I did."

I reached over and grabbed her wrist, gaining her attention.

"I will repay you in time, but first I must take care of this."

She nodded with a smile, then reached into her bag she was carrying and handed me some photos. They were photos of a cabin way out in a mountain range, snow was covering the ground and it looked like rough conditions.

"Where is this exactly?" I asked after glancing over the images.

"Well, it's actually just a mountain range, it doesn't have a specific name but I can tell you the quickest way to get there."

I nodded, waiting for her response.

"You need to get to the mystic ruins, once you're there you'll find a portal to get to the top of the mountain, it's the only known way to get up there. I don't know how you'll get down though…" her voice changed from confident to worried, I glanced up at her big emerald eyes and saw fear, something I hadn't seen in her eyes before. _She truly does care about me. I told her to be careful…_

"I'll be fine, I told you don't worry about me so much Rouge, you'll see, I'll take care of this and I'll be back, I promise."

"I need to tell you something." She grabbed my arm as I stood to leave, she stood and flew across the table, now standing beside me.

"He's working on some sort of super weapon… we don't know what yet, but it'll take chaos energy to use a weapon that large. If you go, only take one emerald."

 _Oh yeah, that reminds me._

I pulled out the purple and light blue emerald and laid them out on the table.

"Here, you keep them safe."

She stared at them for a moment then glanced back at me.

"Well, I should get going then." I broke the tension between me and the bat, walking out and heading towards the exit.

"Be careful, please Shadow!"

I stopped at the gate and glanced back, giving a nod and going on my way towards the mystic ruins.

 _Alright guys, chapter 7 is gonna be a big deal for Shadow, will he go through with killing Towers? And what is this weapon Towers is working on? Things are about to get real interesting, Shadow will have to make a VERY difficult choice next chapter, stay tuned, I've already began typing chapter 7 and it's gonna be good! :) Chapter 7 will be out later this week, likely around Thursday, maybe even sooner depending how much time I can find to write! Hope you guys are enjoying this story, let me know what you guys think!_


	7. Chapter 7 - hero or villain?

_Chapter 7 - Hero or Villain?_

 _Hey guys, this chapter is special for Shadows development not only for this story but for the stories I will write after, that's all I'm gonna say before I spoil too much! Enjoy!_

On the way to the Mystic Ruins, I did lots of thinking. More thinking than I had done since I first woke up a few weeks ago honestly.

 _I'm finally gonna do it Maria… I'll get your revenge._ I sat there finding myself almost smiling, knowing my journey was almost complete. Then other thoughts entered my brain. I closed my eyes and began to let my mind do it's own thing. _Super weapon? Hmph, nothing will stop me. Rouge did seem worried though… Rouge…_ My eyes shot open, realizing who I was thinking about. _Why do I find myself thinking about her so often? She's fine to be around, sure, but this is something I've never felt before… Maria used to tell me when I was on the ARK that I would make friends one day, but if this is what having a friend is like, I don't know if I'm ready. Maybe when all this is finished I'll be able to have a better understanding of why I think of her so often…_ I closed my eyes once more, leaning back on the train I was in, heading towards the Mystic Ruins. I felt myself doze off, and before I knew it I was dreaming.

*Dream Sequence*

"Shadow!"

I opened my eyes and found myself in a green field, the wind steadily blowing and the sun setting in the distance. I turned to find a blond haired girl with a blue dress and bright blue eyes standing behind me.

"Maria?" my jaw practically hit the floor.

"Shadow, I know you're surprised but I don't have long, so please focus."

I snapped myself out of the trance I was in and locked in on her. "I'm listening."

"I know what you're about to do… you're so stubborn so I won't even try to stop you, but I want you to promise me one last thing… please."

"Anything for you Maria."

"I want you to prioritize the people of this planet over a personal blood feud, help people Shadow, show them the _real_ you! The side only I got to see, well, me and you're new friend Rouge."

My ears perked up. "Rouge, how do you know her?"

Maria giggled and walked over to me. "Shadow, I watch over you all the time. You and her are truly something to see."

"So, what I feel when I'm around her, that's what friendship is?"

"Well, every friendship is different Shadow, not everyone will be what we had, but if you really want my opinion, then I'll happily tell you."

"Please?" I asked, grabbing her hand.

"Actually… you need to figure it out, I don't wanna spoil your feelings. Just do one thing, don't push her away because you're afraid of certain feelings, be open with her Shadow, show her some trust, I know it sounds crazy but you've got a long life ahead of you, you're gonna need someone to have your back. My time with you is up, remember what I told you, help people Shadow!"

"Maria, WAIT!"

*Back in reality*

I woke up dripping sweat. I found the train stopped in the middle of the desert. _Guess I should get moving… that dream was a little too real for my liking. Could it be a sign? Nah, stop Shadow, don't be foolish._

I glanced down at a tiny journal I had with me, Rouge had written down directions to this portal she spoke of. After some walking and difficulty finding what she wrote about, I eventually found the portal. It was glowing red and purple, it was actually pulsating in a way. _This will be interesting._ I took a step in and before I knew it my body went from hot to freezing in a matter of seconds, I was on the mountain, and no more than 100 feet away from me was the tiny cabin where the former commander had been hiding. The wind on the mountain was whipping loudly, the snow fell at an absurd rate, I struggled to see as it fell faster and harder. I kept moving in the direction towards the cabin, eventually reaching the front door. I didn't bother knocking, I kicked it in and met Towers almost instantly. He was seated by a fire, wearing a big black winter coat, some green cargo pants, and black combat boots.

"I knew you'd come for me eventually." He said with a chuckle, offering me a seat next to him.

"That won't be necessary, this will be over quickly." I walked over and grabbed him by the jacket, yet he began laughing wildly. I stared at the madman, not knowing what the hell was going on.

"Oh Shadow… all this time you wanted revenge, 50 years later you're about to get it, isn't revenge sweet?"

"Revenge is the sweetest joy next to victory." i barked harshly.

"Ah you don't scare me hedgehog, you have no idea how fucked you truly are."

My grip grew tighter on him. "You talk big for a defenseless man!"

He laughed again. "Defenseless? I have the best defense imaginable."

I loosened up and studied the man. "Explain yourself."

"You know I used to be the GUN commander, some people still believe in me… in fact, some people that work at GUN right now still believe in me, while you came here to kill me, they're stealing the emeralds from GUN and taking them to Space Colony Ark, where they will use The Eclipse Cannon I made Gerald make over 50 years ago. I don't need all 7 to blow up the earth, I had the red emerald all along, and GUN had 4 of them, stealing from Tails wasn't hard at all with you injuring Sonic, and you have the final emerald. 6 are on the ARK powering a cannon that will destroy the planet, so, will you take this time to kill me and die along with everyone on this planet, or will you attempt to stop the strike and save the world?"

I felt my stomach start flipping, surely he was bluffing, but something so big, a threat so large, I couldn't take a chance. I grabbed him and chaos controlled back to the GUN HQ, sure enough as soon as the light died down, the alarm was going off. I saw Rouge flying over towards me with about 10 GUN agents behind her.

"ARREST TOWERS, Shadow, with me now!"

I didn't bother arguing, if she was freaking out then this had to be real.

I followed her into a room labeled "the situation room." inside Topaz, Rouge, and a few other high ranking GUN operatives were inside gathered around the projector. I followed close behind, the images on the wall showed the ARK.

"Shadow, he had people working for him on the inside, he's got 6 of the 7 emeralds and he's got a super cannon charging up as we speak. I know you have a personal vendetta against him but I need you to drop it and help us! We all need your help Shadow!"

 _ **Help them Shadow, promise me!**_

I stood silently for a moment, all eyes on me in the center of the room.

"I'll do it. How long do I have?"

Rouge quickly grabbed a laptop and glanced over at the timer.

"Our best calculations land it at 2 hours before it fires, you're gonna have to hurry because we're not sure how accurate that truly is."

I nodded and walked out, in the hallway I was greeted by some unlikely help.

"Shadow!" the blue blur yelled out to me.

I glanced to find Sonic, Silver, Knuckles, Tails and Amy all standing by.

Rouge walked behind me and saw the group.

"What's going on guys?" Rouge asked

"We came to help, why's he here?" Knuckles said, pointing at me.

"I'm here to save your pathetic planet, now get out of the way or help me!" I shouted coldly.

Surprisingly, Sonic was the first person to stand next to me.

"Shadow, we will bury our problems later, right now we got bigger things to worry about."

I nodded glancing over at the others.

Silver, Tails and Amy soon followed, leaving Knuckles standing alone.

"Knuckie, why don't you help them?" Rouge called out from behind me.

I watched him run the back of his head, then glaring at me.

"I'll help Sonic, not you."

"Hmph, if it were up to me you wouldn't even be here."

"BOYS! Now's not the time, Shadow, I need you to focus and get these guys onto the ARK, you know what to do."

Tails backed off from the group.

"I'll prepare the X-Tornado and meet you guys there!"

I nodded then grabbed Sonic's arm. He grabbed Amy's, she grabbed Knuckles, he grabbed Silvers, then Silver grabbed mine.

"Chaos control now!" I shouted, sending us all into the ARK. Once we arrived we realized just how bad the situation was.

"We need a plan!" Sonic called out, the ARK was shaking violently.

I went strictly off instinct. "Silver, take Knuckles and Amy and work on getting those emeralds loose, me and Sonic will work on a way to stop the cannon, but we likely need to get those emeralds out first." Nobody questioned the plan, everyone nodded and took off, me and Sonic began running off towards the control room.

"You know Shadow, I may have pegged you the wrong way, you're not as bad as you appear to be."

I glanced over at him as we ran, he was smiling and giving me a thumbs up.

"Sonic, you're oddly optimistic in a situation like this." I said, speeding up.

"The way I see it, we have no choice but to stop this thing, or everyone on that planet is dead."

He was right, we had to do something, and we had to do it quickly. We were both moving as fast as we could, neck and neck the entire way. Once we arrived at the end of the long hallway, I turned and led him into the control room. I was hit with so many memories upon entering. I felt myself becoming lost in my thoughts, but Sonic snapped me out of it.

"Shadow, focus up buddy, we gotta hurry."

"Right." I walked over and glanced up at the large computer, then glanced back over to Sonic, who was staring at me, just as lost as I was.

"We need Rouge." I said, breaking the silence as he tried to hack the computer. "I'll be back." I chaos controlled back to GUN HQ, everyone was staring at me shocked.

"Where's Rouge." I asked, glancing around the room.

"I'll get her sir!" one of the agents yelled out, running out of the room. Sure enough not even a minute later, she returned with Rouge.

"Shadow what's wrong?" She ran over meeting me, I quickly grabbed her and chaos controlled, leaving the room silent and confused.

We appeared back with Sonic in the control room, after she caught her balance, she punched me in the arm.

"What the hell was that for!" I stepped back, staring at the angry bat.

"That's for not telling me you were gonna do that, it makes me dizzy!" She shook her head and glanced over at Sonic.

"Rouge, we need your hacking skills." Sonic called out, grabbing the bat and pulling her to the computer.

I watched her glance over at the computer then back at me.

"What?" I asked, confused why she was acting weird.

"You could've just asked, you know?" She said as she took Sonic's seat, she began typing away at the computer. I didn't bother answering, I just crossed my arms and walked over to a window, glaring out at the cannon. The ARK was still shaking, but not as bad. Rouge was typing away on the keyboard when there was a sudden explosion, I felt energy start to coarse through my veins. I realized I wasn't the only one feeling it, Sonic had visibly changed. I glanced down at the green emerald, it was shining brightly.

"Sonic, I have an idea, follow me." I darted off, him following close behind. I led him towards the central mainframe, where the emeralds would be held. Sure enough once we had arrived, the emeralds were out and on the floor.

"Shit, good job guys, we stopped it right?" I asked, glancing at the many worried faces.

"Shadow, a video popped up from Towers, he said something along the lines of the ARK is gonna crash into the Earth!" Silver called out, I glanced over and Sonic then back to Silver.

"Well, I don't know if this will work for you guys but it'll work for me." I threw my emerald into the pile, all 7 began to glow brightly, then they began to float. I felt the energy pumping in my veins. I closed my eyes and felt myself begin to float with the emeralds. After a moment, I gained control of the power, I opened my eyes to find out that I wasn't the only one with chaos abilities. Silver, Sonic and I all were in our super forms.

"It appears we all have more in common than meets the eye, let's stop this tin can once and for all!" Silver called out, me and Sonic both nodded and we exited the ARK, using as much strength as we could to stop the ARK.

"SHADOW! ITS SLOWING DOWN BUT I DON'T THINK WE CAN STOP IT LIKE THIS." Sonic yelled out to me, he had to yell because of how loud the ARK was.

I didn't reply, I was focusing all my energy on holding the ARK. Silver was also very focused, I could see him out of the corner of my eye.

"Shadow, we might have to have a plan b." Sonic called out again, this time I answered.

"Like what?"

The three of us visibly struggling, the ARK was moving at such a speed that even with our full strength combined, we weren't stopping it.

"We will have to cause chaos control!"

"Do you seriously think that'll work?" I called back to Sonic, he simply nodded.

I glanced over at Silver before deciding to speak again.

"Silver, go back inside and make sure you get the others to safety, I don't want them around when this happens."

"Shadow are you-"

"I'M SURE, GO SILVER." I yelled out, struggling to slow the ARK."

Silver left in a blaze, quickly moving off to get the others off the ARK.

"Shadow, you ready buddy?" Sonic called out.

"I was created for moments like this Sonic." I replied, moving closer to the glowing hedgehog.

"Okay then, chaos - WOAH!"

I landed a hard gut punch to Sonic, causing him to float back away from the ARK.

"SHADOW WHAT'RE YOU DOING?"

"Don't worry Sonic, somebody has to be around to protect the planet after this." I smiled, for the first time since I had seen Maria. _Maria, I'll be with you soon!_

"ARGHHH!" I yelled as my inhibitor rings flew off, letting my power reach maximum capability. I knew what I was about to do wasn't smart, but somebody had to do it.

"CHAOS CONTROL NOW!"

*Rouges POV*

Silver flew into the room in a haste.

"GUY WE GOTTA GO!" He yelled, trying to catch his breath.

"Where's Sonic and Shadow?" I asked, I wouldn't admit it out loud but I was really worried about Shadow. _Don't you dare do anything stupid Shadow._

"They're gonna chaos control, but they don't know what's gonna happen when they do it. We gotta-"

Suddenly the bright light from chaos control blinded all of us, and after a few moments the violent shaking of the ARK stopped. We all stood around, we noticed Silver was no longer in his super form.

"The shaking stopped! They stopped it!" Knuckles yelled out.

We all ran out of the mainframe and into the long hallway, we ran towards the doorways and anxiously waited for them to open.

 _Cmon Shadow… I know you're gonna be okay! He has to be okay, he's the ultimate life form._

Everything stopped once the doors opened and a tired looking hedgehog stepped through, except it wasn't the one I was looking for.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed out and ran over to him, greeting him with a big hug. He returned it weakly before glancing around at everyone else.

"Where's Shadow?" Silver called our.

My heart stopped, _don't say it Sonic… please._

"He's gone…"

I felt my heart start beating rapidly, I felt my face start getting hot and tears began to build. I felt light headed, I couldn't breath. _This has to be some sort of fucked up dream right?"_

Sonic walked slowly over towards our group and sat down for a moment, then he held his hand out towards me.

"What… what is it?" I asked, trying to hold back the tears.

He didn't answer, he simply dropped whatever he was holding into my hands. I glanced and my heart busted into a billion pieces. _It's his rings… this can't be real._ The tears could no longer be held back… I felt myself getting weak in the knees and everyone was staring at me.

"Rouge… you really cared about him didn't you?" Silver asked, grabbing my arm and sitting me down in a chair so I wouldn't collapse.

"I didn't know him long… but he had such an impact on me… he can't be gone." I felt my voice begin to crack, I knew how horrible I must sound. Amy walked over and sat next to me.

"Can you guys give her some space, let me talk to her for a little bit."

After a few awkward seconds, everyone slowly cleared out. Knuckles hesitated but I waved him out, I wanted nothing to do with him at the moment.

"Rouge… did you love him?"

I felt my heart break again. _Love? No… that would be crazy.. but why am I acting like this then?_

"Amy… I- I honestly don't know… I feel like I shouldn't but look at me… I'm a mess." I placed my face into my hands and felt the tears rolling off my palms. Soon after I felt Amy pat me on the back.

"There's nothing wrong with that Rouge, so what if it was a short amount of time? He made you happy didn't he?"

I thought for a second. _He was a hard ass, but I loved that, I loved how he was distant yet playful at times, he was so serious but that would make it that much better when he did crack a joke or open up a little. He also showed he cared.. fuck Shadow… why'd you have to leave me?_ I felt my heart crumbling.

"I know this'll sound crazy… but he made me happier in the short amount of time than Knuckles ever did… he… he never hurt me, the closest her ever came to hurting me was making me dizzy a few times, he didn't show it, but he cared about me Amy… and I don't know why… I wish he was here… I never got to appreciate him like I should've, I never got to tell him _how I feel._ "

I saw Amy's facial expression change, she looked a bit sad now too.

"I didn't have a lot of good experience with Shadow… but he saved everyone, and it sounds like he treated you right… I'm sorry Rouge, you know I'll be here if you need me."

I nodded. I truly did love that Amy would be there for me, but deep down I wanted Shadow to be there. _Everything about him was a damn mystery, he could be caring one second and cold the next, and… I miss it already. I missed it when he told me to go back to GUN, I'll never forget how scared I was… and now it's true… I have to live in a world without Shadow around anymore…_

 _Meanwhile…_

"Oh those blasted hedgehogs, no telling what they're up to now!" Eggman yelled, watching the news report on the stopping of the ARK.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard nearby, shaking the secret base of Eggman.

"What the bloody hell could that have been?" The odd man stood up and ran to his testing facility, where he hopped on his hovercraft and flew off to investigate the noise. He saw a large smoke cloud out in the distance, so he quickly flew closer to find out what caused all the commotion. Eggman was beyond shocked to say the least when he found what caused the loud explosion.

"OH MY GOD, SHADOW?!"

2 weeks after the events on Space Colony Ark. Everyone had returned to their normal lives, well, _almost_ everyone. Sonic and Tails still went on adventures daily, Amy watched Sonic and day dreamed about him all the time. Knuckles spent a lot of time trying to rekindle his fire with Rouge, only to be rejected multiple times. He decided to give up and go back to guarding the master emerald. Silver vanished about a week after the events of the ARK, nobody is truly sure what happened to him, but a certain cat just happens to know where he's at. Rouge… well, she was the only one not so normal after the events of the ARK. She took a leave of absence from GUN to get over Shadow, only to find herself crying herself to sleep every night. She dreamed about the nights they spent together, the couple of times she convinced him to let her sleep with him, she missed it, she truly missed him. She tried lots of things, she eventually sold her apartment and bought a club with a top floor living area, where she used her time to make other people happy. She called it Club Rouge, and she held big parties to distract her from thinking of Shadow, she had fun, yet when the time came to sleep, Shadow was always on her mind. Eggman, well he struck gold. Once Shadow caused chaos control, he crashed down to Earth, barely surviving the crash, and if Eggman hadn't found him, he would likely be dead. Eggman kept the secret well hidden, even Eggman's robots had no clue Shadow was still alive. Shadow on the other hand, well Shadow hasn't woken up yet. He's been put into a cryogenic sleep, much like the one he was in when Maria released him from the ARK so many years ago… the question now is, will it be another 50 years before he's awakened once more?

 _Of course not!_

1 month after the events of the ARK, Rouge finally returned to work. She gave Topaz full control as Commander and returned to being a field agent.

*Rouges POV*

-bzzz bzzz-

 _Hm, great. It's only 8am and GUN is already calling me. This better be worth my time._ I stood and slowly walked over to the table next to my bed, grabbing the tiny communication device that was buzzing.

"This is Agent Rouge speaking."

"Rouge, it's Topaz, I need you here within the hour, Eggman's base has been found and he's been too quiet lately, I need you to infiltrate and see what you can find!"

"Will do, let me get dressed."

I hung up and tossed it over to the table, something shiny catching my eye. It was Shadow's inhibitor rings. _Shadow… god I miss you more and more everyday. I wish you would come back, I wish you would just show up out of the blue…_ I walked over and slid his rings on. _I'll need some good luck today, wearing these make me feel safe…_

I walked over to the mirror and was disgusted at myself. It looked as though I hadn't slept in days. (which was somewhat true, I found it hard to sleep with the nightmares I had been having.)

"Jeez I look like a train wreck, I need to do something with this hair."

After some makeup and some hair touch ups, I was prepared for whatever lies ahead of me.

Later, Rouge was given the location of the secret base by Topaz. She did her stretching so she was loose and ready to move, then she headed out to the location. Once she arrived, she noticed he had greatly upgraded his security. _Okay, so my mission is to arrest Eggman and to figure out what he's been working on. Should be simple enough._

I flew around the base until I found a point of entry. _An air vent should do wonders._

I climbed into the air vent and went on my way, taking my time and quietly crawling, peeking through every cover I came across. There were all sorts of things, weird test chambers, a large server room next to a control center, a security room, and finally a bedroom. _There has to be more here, I haven't seen or heard Eggman yet._ I climb closer to the bedroom and remove the vent cover, quietly floating down to the floor below me. I stood very still listening for any type of noise, but all the noises I could pick up were natural. I took the time to search around the room for clues, this clearly wasn't Eggman's room, so who's was it? I glanced around and noticed no pictures or any clothing in the room, I also found so signs of food or water bottles anywhere in the room. The only thing I found was an oil can. _That's it! A robot lives here, but why does a robot need its own room?_ I suddenly heard two sets of footsteps approaching the room. I quickly ran and hid under the bed. In walker two pairs of feet, one was clearly Eggman and the other appeared to be a robot.

"Alright Bocoe, where's E-123 Omega? I left him in here to charge up to spar with my test subject."

 _Test subject, E-123 Omega? Sounds complex._

"Sorry doctor, I locked him in but maybe he went to investigate on his own."

I watched Eggman shift and walk over to the window.

"Bocoe, please locate Omega, I need to think." The robot didn't respond, he just walked out.

"Ughhh, shit. Omega isn't ready to spar Shadow yet. Hopefully he didn't get destroyed."

 _SHADOW? No, I gotta be tripping, no way he just said Shadow._ I felt my heart beating out of my chest. It was so loud, I swear Eggman was gonna hear it any second. He eventually walked out, yet I found myself frozen under the bed. _This can't be real, I gotta find out if this Shadow is the same Shadow I knew._ I crawled out and composed myself, then I began walking towards the door when I felt someone grab me from behind. _Shit…_ Out of instinct, I quickly turned and threw a kick, which to my surprise was caught out of mid air.

"You've got a lot of nerve bat." a cold, familiar voice filled my eardrums.

I met the crimson red eyes of Shadow himself, it truly was the same Shadow I knew. I felt like my heart was gonna explode, I felt tears of joy start rolling off my face.

"Shadow! Oh my god I missed you so much! Where the hell have you been?" I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. I noticed how tense he was, then suddenly felt him push me off. I caught my balance and glanced into his burning eyes.

"I work for the doctor now, I've been told you're not to be trusted so I suggest you leave before you have to deal with me and Omega!"

My heart went from beating happily to dropping out of my chest. _He… he doesn't even care to see me?_

"Shadow…? Are you okay?" I reached out to grab his hand but he quickly smacked my hand away.

"Last warning bat, get lost. I normally don't give others this many chances so take it like it is, get the hell out!" I saw his fists begin to ball up as he spoke, I quickly flew up into the vent, crawling away. _Shadow… what the hell happened to you?_

 _Hey guys, this chapter was probably 50/50 between Shadow and Rouge's POVS, next chapter will be back to strictly Shadow, just needed to use Rouge to show how Shadow had changed in such a short period of time. Is this truly who Shadow is now, or is this all some sort of game? Stay tuned, Chapter 8 will have the answer!_


	8. Chapter 8 - Friend or Foe?

_Chapter 8 - Friend or Foe?_

 _That stupid bat, I can't believe she had the nerve to show up like that… after what she did to me. The doctor told me how she left me to die on the ARK… now she shows up and acts surprised to see me still breathing? What a joke…_

I was walking away from the bedroom when I ran into Eggman.

"Ah Shadow there you are, have you seen Omega?"

"Actually yes, I know you created him to spar with me, but me and Omega are actually becoming quite close. I helped him master some of his newer modifications you gave him, I think he will make a perfect partner for me once we begin our work!" I said with a smirk, the doctor smiled back wickedly.

"Oh Shadow I can't tell you how nice it is to have you back, I'm glad you and Omega are getting along, you two will be partners for a long time you know, since you're both practically immortal."

 _He has a point… I never thought of it like that, I'll have a friend forever in this robot._

I nodded and wondered off towards my living quarters to lay down for a while, the weird bat was still on my mind. _I know the doctor told me about her… but I recognized her almost instantly… I don't remember anything… what if… no, she had to be lying, the doctor has been nothing but helpful to me, he wouldn't lie to me._

I laid there for hours pondering what actually happened on the ARK, I wanted to ask Eggman but I didn't want to offend him, he claims to have created me, and it would be wrong for me to disrespect him. I suddenly heard a knock on my door, after a moment the floating robot known as Omega entered.

"HELLO SHADOW, I SENSE YOU'RE IN DEEP THOUGHT" the robot called out in his monotone voice.

"Yes, captain obvious." I snapped back in a harsh tone.

"MY SENSORS TELL ME YOU'RE ALSO ANNOYED. WHAT'S THE MATTER?"

I was getting annoyed with the robot when an idea suddenly popped into my head.

"Omega, can you possibly do me a favor?"

"THAT DEPENDS, WHAT DO YOU NEED."

"I say we run a test… to make sure you can download files if we're on a mission. Go to Eggmans computer and download any files you can find that deal with me, okay? That way we know if you can download stuff and on top of that, you'll get to know me better."

The robot would have smiled if physically possible.

"GREAT IDEA SHADOW, I'LL SEE TO IT AT ONCE."

I watched as the robot flew out, I took this time to jump into the vent where the bat had been, following it all the way onto the outside. Once there I glanced around for clues to where she could've gone.

 _It appears she took my advice and left… smart bat._ I turned and was about to climb back into the vent when I heard the trees rustling. I paused and slowly turned around, scanning the perimeter.

"Who goes there, show yourself!" I shouted, glancing around.

After a moment, a familiar face appeared. _She looks familiar…_

"Oh it's you! You saved me in the alleyway a few months back, funny I run into you, I'm kinda lost." the lavender cat called out. _Great… she claims to know me too… why the hell cant I remember anything?_

"Sure… what exactly do you need help with?" I finally spoke.

"... Well, i'm lost."

I widened my eyes when I realized she had already told me.

"Sorry, I'm a bit distracted, where do you wanna go?"

"Well, that's where things get complicated. I'm looking for this guy called Eggman, but I can't find him, do you think you could point me in the right direction?" she finally walked over and sat on a ventilation system next to me.

"Perhaps I could tell you, but if you don't mind me asking, what is it you want with him?" I asked, also sitting on the ventilation system.

"He is somewhat responsible for a terrible event that I'm here to stop, it hasn't happened yet but it will soon!"

My ears perked in interest.

"Hm, you wouldn't lie to me would you cat?" I studied her posture, she seemed exhausted, but unlike other people I've run into since I woke up at the base, she didn't seem scared of me.

"No, of course not! I kinda owe you my life you know?" She said with a chuckle. "Hey… thanks for saving me by the way, I don't think I ever got your name."

"Its Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Do you remember who I am?" She said with a smile.

 _Shit she's onto me…_

"Ugh… no." I said quietly.

She frowned. "Oh, I see." she began to stand but I quickly grabbed her.

"Listen, you actually have met me before and you're not messing with me?"

She looked concerned now. "Yeah… why would I lie about that?"

I sat her down next to me once more. "I'm going to tell you something and it'll sound crazy, but I need you to believe me. I woke up a few weeks ago and have no memory of the events that took place before it."

She nodded with a frown.

"I wish I could help but when we met it was only for a few minutes, you just happened to save me from getting jumped."

"I see…"

She noticed how my voice trailed off and patted me on the back.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out Shadow, by the way I'm Blaze the Cat. If we meet again and you remember me, I'll tell you more about me!" She stood and began to walk away.

"Good luck finding Eggman." I called out as she walked away, she glanced back with a smile and waved. I sat for a moment watching her disappear into the surrounding forest, then I climbed back into the vent and crawled towards the bedroom. Once I finally returned, Omega was floating, waiting patiently for me to return.

"SHADOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE VENT?"

"I'll explain later, what did you find out?"

"THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, WOULD YOU LIKE ALL OF IT?"

I nodded, waiting for the robot to continue.

"OVER 50 YEARS AGO YOU WERE CREATED ON A COLONY IN SPACE CALLED THE ARK, YOU WERE CREATED TO HELP CURE THE DAUGHTER OF GERALD ROBOTNIK, KNOW AS MARIA. GERALD IS YOUR CREATOR. HE WAS KILLED ALONG WITH MARIA IN A GUN INVASION OF THE ARK, THE DAUGHTER SAVED YOUR LIFE AND YOU WERE FOUND HERE EARLIER THIS YEAR. IN YOU TIME SINCE YOU'VE AWAKEN, YOU'VE MANAGED TO WORK WITH EGGMAN, ROUGE THE BAT, AND YOUR KNOWN RIVAL SONIC THE HEDGEHOG FOR MULTIPLE DIFFERENT REASONS. YOU'RE BIGGEST FEAT SO FAR IS SAVING THE WORLD FROM MASS DESTRUCTION. OTHER NOTES INDICATE YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS, BUT STAYED WITH ROUGE THE BAT WHILE YOU WERE AWAY FROM EGGMAN. NOTES ALSO STATE THAT YOUR MEMORY WAS WHIPPED TO MAKE YOU WORK FOR EGGMAN ONCE MORE. THAT'S ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE ON YOU SHADOW."

I sat there in disbelief. _So that bat that acted as if she knew me… was that Rouge? I feel bad… maybe there is a way for me to remember everything?_

"Omega, is there anyway to get my memories back?"

"SCANNING FILES." …. "YES, YOU CAN UNDERGO A CRYOGENIC SLUMBER TO REGAIN MEMORIES OR YOU WILL NEED TO BE AROUND THOSE OF YOUR PAST LONG ENOUGH TO SLOWLY REGAIN MEMORIES."

I sat down glancing at the robot. "Hey, one more thing, do you know why you were created?"

"OFFICIALLY? TO SUPPORT YOU. THOUGH NOW THAT I'VE SEEN WHAT YOU CAN DO, I DON'T THINK THATS MY TRUE PURPOSE."

"Omega, would you be opposed to working with just the two of us, no Eggman?"

"NO, BUT HE DID CREATE ME, I FEEL A CERTAIN LOYALTY TOWARDS HIM."

"I understand, can you cover for me while I make myself scarce, I have some things to discover about myself."

"YES, IF EGGMAN ASKS I'LL TELL HIM YOU'RE GETTING FRESH AIR."

I almost smiled. "Thanks Omega, I'll come back eventually, I promise."

I stood and jumped into the vent, climbing out into the world once more. I ran as fast as I could looking for the nearest city. I eventually came across a "Night Babylon." _This doesn't look or sound familiar… but maybe I've been here before._ I ran over the green hills and spotted the town, the sun was setting on the horizon and the lights from the city filled the sky. I saw many humans walking on the sidewalks, so I figured sprinting would gain a lot of attention to myself. I decided to try and blend in as easily as possible.

 _Rouge has to be in one of these cities, hopefully I'll find her here._ I walked for a while, getting glances from just about everyone I passed, eventually I turned onto a street with a large amount of people in front of a building. There was loud music coming from inside. _What's this all about?_ I walked towards the front of the group of people, who seemed to be in some sort of line, and was greeted by a tall man wearing all black. He was in his late 20's, and he was ripped with muscle.

"Sorry sir, I can't let you in unless you're on the list." He looked down and noticed I wasn't human.

"Oh my apologies sir, you must be friends with Rouge! Please come right in!" he removed a rope from the doorway and pointed me into the dark building. I glanced up at the bright red neon light. _Club Rouge… hmph, maybe it's just a coincidence._ I walked inside and met the loud music along with the flashing lights. The club was filled with humans, but in the back corner there was a table with a blue hedgehog, a red echidna, a yellow fox and a pink hedgehog. I glanced around and noticed the white bat was behind what appeared to be a bar, talking to a familiar looking girl. I began making my way through the crowd when I suddenly heard someone call out from behind me.

"Hey Shadow, Rouge told us what happened, you better not be here to cause trouble!"

I turned and met the group that had been seated in the back corner.

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly the music stopped and a voice came over the speakers.

"Parties over, everyone get the hell out!"

The crowd sighed and everyone started moving towards the exit, all you could hear was mumbles from the disappointed crowd.

I didn't move nor did the group in front of me.

"I said OUT!" The voice yelled, I turned and saw the bat was on stage with a microphone. The group slowly turned and began to walk away while I stood there staring down the bat. After everyone had cleared out except me, the bat and the lone girl at the bar, she flew over to me and landed a few feet away from me.

"So, you decided to show up at my club, what now, you here to hurt me again?" she said in a harsh tone.

"Listen… Rouge, right?"

I watched her face soften. "Shadow… don't you remember me?"

"Yes… and no. My memory had been erased, I need your help… I realize you weren't lying when you said you knew me so I figured you'd be the best person to come to."

She stood there for a moment then hugged me tightly.

"I thought you hated me Shadow.. I had no clue you had your memory whipped, I'm sorry." She pulled away and noticed my confused face.

"So… I'm assuming we were foes before all this? My robot companion had a lot of information on me, he said I didn't have any friends."

"No, we weren't foes, but not quite friends, more like partners, or I guess you could all me an _ally."_ she walked over and grabbed my arm, then guided me over to the bar where the line girl was sitting.

"Do you remember her?" the bat asked.

The girl looked at Rouge confused then back towards me.

"Hey Shadow! How are you?" The girl asked happily.

"Uhhhhh."

"Oh honey you really don't remember shit do ya?" Rouge laughed, patting me on the back.

"This isn't funny…" I said grinding my teeth together.

"Oh I'm sorry sassy pants, this is Jessica, she helped you when you first woke up, she was the first person to help you, and she introduced us to each other."

I glanced over at Jessica, I felt bad for not remembering her.

"You're familiar, both of you are, but I really don't remember anything, I'm sorry."

Rouge simply laughed.

"What now?"

"Nothing hon, it's just not like you to apologize."

"What do you mean, am I different than I used to be?" I asked worryingly.

"No no, it's not that. I'll explain once I get you settled down, I'm assuming now that you know I wasn't lying that you need a place to stay?"

"Yes… Eggman is likely using me if what you say is true."

She smiled and guided me upstairs. There were two bedrooms on the hallway and some sort of office.

"This is my room and my work office, and the door on the far left is your room."

I paused and she glanced back at me.

"What's wrong Shady?"

"My room? Did I used to live here?"

She let out another chuckle.

"No, but it's my guest room, and you're likely gonna be here awhile so make it yours as long as you want it." She said with a smile, waving me towards my room. I followed and sat on the bed, she sat next to me.

"Listen, I know you don't remember anything, but I'm gonna do my best to help you okay? Get settled in and I'll come talk to you in a little bit okay hon?"

"Sure." I said as I laid back on the bed.

She stood over me with a large smile as she began walking out of the room.

"What's that all about?"

She stopped in the doorway and glanced back. "It's good to have you back Shady." she said as she closed the door.

 _This is going to be more complicated than I thought._ I laid there for a little over an hour, I took a quick nap then found myself thinking about what could be coming next. _That cat said Eggman was going to cause something and she was gonna save the future… maybe I should go find her._ I stood and left the room, I began heading down the stairs when I ran into the bat who was sitting on the couch watching TV. She noticed me and grabbed the remote to mute the TV.

"Hey Shadow, wanna talk now or ya busy?"

"Well, I had something on my mind, but I assume it can wait. What is it you wanna talk about?" I walked over and stood next to her, crossing my arm and studying the bat. She was wearing a red tank top and black sweatpants.

"Shadow, my eyes are up here." She said with a giggle, pulling up her tank top so it's not as revealing. I caught myself blushing and quickly turned away. She simply continued laughing.

"Come sit, don't be so distant, I'm just trying to help ya Shadow."

I slowly turned and glanced at her. I gave a slight nod and sat down on the couch next to her, my arms still crossed.

"So, is there anything in particular you want to know?" she asked, playing with the strings on her sweatpants.

"Actually, yes. My partner Omega told me I spent a lot of my time away from Eggman, apparently we stayed together. Why was that?"

She let out a deep sigh then leaned back on the couch.

"Well I'll explain this the best way I can Shadow, this man who was formerly a commander, Towers, he killed-"

"Yes he killed everyone on the ARK and blamed me, I mean while I was on Earth why was I with you so often?"

She curved her lips in thought. "We were running from GUN, well really Towers, which ended with you and me hopping from safe house to an RV. We got kinda close during our short time together, but you really don't remember that do you?" I watched as her face showed sadness. _Why is she so sad when she talks about me?_

"Rouge, I assure you I'm the same person… I just don't remember anything. What did we do?"

"Well, we did a lot, be more specific."

"Did I protect you?"

"Yes, you saved me more than once, in fact when we first met I was a spy, my mission was to get info on you, but you showed me who Towers really was and I began working with you, all of that happened after I kinda almost got you killed… but really I was the one that got hurt from it, you left with a few scratches and an attitude, that's about it!" She said with a big smile. "You saved me later on too, you were weak at a point, and you needed rest badly. Eggman has you in a hospital room, but GUN attacked, I ran in to protect you but in the end you Chaos Controlled me away, where we began staying at my safe house."

"I see, so why did we get a RV?" I relaxed a little more as she continued to talk.

"Hold on Shadow were not to that part yet! So… you won't remember this but I had a boyfriend named Knuckles… he was the red echidna from last night. Anyways, me and him broke up… turns out he cheated on me but that's not important right now, you helped me! It was the first time you showed me any type of comfort, you actually hugged me and it kinda surprised me! You rarely showed any type of compassion for anyone or anything while I was around, but every once in a while you were pretty sweet to me." I watched as she grew sad again.

"What's wrong now?" I pushed her chin up to look at me.

"I told you thank you when you did but… I never got to tell you how thankful I truly was." She scooted over and hugged me again.

 _Okay, the only thing I truly remember is how touchy she is._ I wanted to pull away but then I thought about what she said, this was just her way of showing appreciation, so I let her have her moment. She pulled away and I saw a tear rolling off her cheek.

"Oh don't start crying." I said, feeling bad.

"No, it's happy tears Shady, I really missed you, I thought you died you know… and when I finally did find out you were alive you didn't remember me… I mean you still don't… but it's different you know?"

I nodded. "I understand how confusing it must be, but you're acting like I can't get to know you again, you know I will right?"

Her smile brightened again. "You mean you're gonna stick around?"

"Well, kinda. I want to get Omega out… if everything I've learned about the doctor is true, then he's probably just using him and doesn't truly care for him… that's if I can convince him to come with me."

She stood and reached her hand out for me to grab.

"C'mon then, let's go get him together."

I thought about it, then took her hand and stood. _Guess I'll see if she can handle herself in combat._

"Listen, you should let me do the talking to Omega, he will see you as a target."

She nodded and placed her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"Lead the way, _hero_." She said with a smile.

That word sent chills down my spine. _Hero? I don't think I'd go that far._

I lead her out of the club and towards the base. Along the way we made small talk, she asked me what I had been doing since I woke back up, I replied telling her how Eggman has been making me train Omega. I asked her the same, what has she been doing since I left. She didn't answer though… she changed the subject.

Later, we arrived at the secret base. I knew where all the security cameras and traps were placed, so we entered undetected. After dodging a few close calls with roaming guards, I finally found Omega. He was idle in his room, likely powered down.

"Hm, we could try and move him while he's powered down, or we could wake him and have to convince him. Either way won't be easy, what do you think Rouge?" I called over my shoulder to her.

"Wake him and convince him, if things get sour I'd rather him help us instead of fight us."

"Good point."

I walked over and examined the sleeping robot. I found his switch and flipped him back on. After a moment he greeted me.

"WELCOME BACK SHADOW, HOW WAS YOUR TRIP?" his voice was the same dull tone as always.

"It was fine Omega. I need you to come with me, we're leaving the doctor behind."

"SHADOW, I THOUGHT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY. THE DOCTOR CREATED ME, IM LOYAL TO HIM."

"Omega he's gonna get you destroyed!"

"DO YOU NOT HAVE FAITH IN MY SKILL? YOU TRAINED ME!"

 _Shit._

"I didn't say that… he used me before and he's using me now… he's likely using you too, you can be so much more than Eggman's toy Omega, you can come with me and Rouge and we can help you!"

"ROUGE! ROUGE THE BAT? SHE'S HOSTILE, ENGAGING TANGO."

I heard Rouge shuffle behind me, she was in a fighting stance. Omega had his gun powering up when I quickly stepped between the two, facing Omega.

"Omega.. last chance, we can still be partners if you come with us."

"SHADOW, HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME AND THE DOCTOR, SHES MANIPULATING YOU!" the robot physically couldn't sound betrayed, but I could tell he was.

"DAMN YOU OMEGA, SHE HAS NOTHING TO MANIPULATE ME WITH! SHE TOLD ME EVERYTHING YOU TOLD ME! SHE'S TRYING TO HELP US!" I yelled, clenching my fists as I grew more and more frustrated with the robot.

"SHADOW, LEAVE BEFORE I HAVE TO PUT YOU DOWN."

"...Excuse me?" I stared up at the robot.

"I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU BUT IF YOUR FORCE ME TO I WILL, MOVE AND LET ME ELIMINATE THE TARGET SHADOW."

"For a robot, you're an idiot." I quickly jumped up and kicked him through the wall. I quickly followed it up with a series of quick punches, denting his armor more and more with each punch. More robots began to appear as the alarm began blaring.

"Rouge, there's robots aren't as strong as Omega, you fight them and I'll-

I was hit and sent flying through the other wall. Omega now had control, he held me by my throat.

"GAME OVER HEDGEHOG."

I smirked. "C'mon- Omega- Y-you can't possible think I'm done yet can you?" I hit him with a chaos spear to one of his weak spots.

"OUCH."

"I know all your strengths and weaknesses. I trained you dammit! I will end you if I have to, so don't fucking make me Omega!"

"KEEP TALKING SHADOW, I'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE SUPERIOR BEING IS."

We both collided, sending each other backwards, then we continued back and forth, I threw hard right punches while he cut me with his long claws.

*Outside POV*

Meanwhile… Rouge had her own problems. She was taking care of the robots with ease, but they just kept coming and coming.

"Jeez, you guys just don't get the message do ya? I'M NOT INTERESTED!" She landed a spinning kick on the nearest robot, sending its debris into surrounding robots.

She kicked and clawed her way through wave after wave of robots until she finally cleared them out. She hunched over to catcher her breath.

"Wow… I've been out of work for too long… need to get back in shape." just then she looked up and noticed Shadow and Omega still battling.

She quickly attacked Omega, landing a swift spinning kick to the robot. I left a small dent, which angered Omega and caused him to leave a deep gash along Rouges stomach. She fell, screaming in pain and Shadow stepped between them.

"That's enough Omega." He said between breaths, Omega didn't seem to buy into what Shadow was saying.

"SHADOW, STEP ASIDE AND LET ME FINISH HER."

"Damn you Omega."

Shadow quickly kicked the robot back and picked up Rouge bridal style. She was still crying in pain from her wounds. Shadow carried her as fast as he could out of Eggman's base. He didn't realize it at the time, but Rouge sure did… Shadow was holding her very tightly, Rouge had been held by Shadow before, but never like this. He was moving as fast as he possibly could, breaking nearby windows from his pure speed. Once they arrived back at Club Rouge, Shadow placed her on the couch and decided to get to work cleaning and stitching the wound.

*Shadows POV*

"Rouge, do you have a first-aid kit anywhere?" I glanced at the white bat, she was wincing in pain as tears were flowing from her bloodshot eyes.

"In the bathroom… top drawer on the left… hurry."

I was there and back in a flash, I went as fast as my legs allowed me. I also brought a towel from the bathroom to help clean the wound. I grabbed the bottle of alcohol and prepared to pour it on the wound.

"This is gonna fucking suck." I gave her the towel. "Bite down on this, it'll help, I promise." She did as I told and I poured the alcohol onto her stomach. I watched as tears poured at a faster rate than before, I knew it hurt but I knew it had to be done. _I'm so sorry Rouge._ I said to myself, then I slowly took the towel from her and cleaned the wound, then I got the needle and thread from the first-aid kit.

"Ever had stitches before Rouge?" I asked as I threaded the needle.

"Yeah…" she said in a nervous voice.

"Don't be scared, I was created to do this." I carefully guided my hands across her wound and began stitching away. After a few minutes of stopping for her to complain, she was finally stitched up.

I stood there and glanced down at myself, blood covered my chest and hands, I even had some on my face.

"Well, I need to shower." I said with a slight smirk, she held her hand out and I took it.

"Thank you…"

"Listen, we will discuss this another time. For now, rest."

I patted her head and walked off to shower. I didn't show it, but I was hurt. Omega did a number on me, not only did I train him, but he also learned from me, so he knew my moves, he read my files, he could be my best friend or my worst nightmare. As I turned on the shower and slowly removed the bloody clothing from my body, I glanced into the mirror and noticed a scar across my left eye.

 _Omega.. you may have done some damage this time, but I swear I'll see you fall, especially after what you did to Rouge…_ I climbed into the steaming hot shower, wincing a little as the water hit my wounds. I leaned against the wall and let the water wash the blood from my skin. Not only was I in physical pain from what had happened, but I was in mental and emotional pain.

 _Part of me actually saw him as a friend… who am I kidding, Eggman created him, he can't be trusted… and poor Rouge, if I made her stay she would probably be mad at me, but at least she'd be unharmed. I need to be more careful with my choices around her…_ I decided to save my thinking for later and focused on cleaning up. After a long and much needed shower, I threw on a pair of loose shorts, then I went to check on Rouge. I walked over and saw she was watching TV, so I decided to stand next to her and watch along with her. It wasn't long before she starting calling me out on things.

"Shadow, you know you're fur is still dripping right? And you know you're not wearing a shirt right? And you know your muscles are way more visible when your fur is wet, right?"

I chuckled and glanced away from the TV, turning my glance towards her. "Is that a problem?" I said, sitting next to the bat.

"NO! I mean no, whatever you're comfortable with."

"Hey, focus on getting better then worry about me. I did wanna say I'm sorry that I let that happen." I glanced towards the ground, not wanting to face her directly with my defeat.

She rubbed my chin, causing me to glance back up at her. "I chose to go with you, you have nothing to be sorry over." she said with a smirk. "Plus, you stitched me up and let me stare at you without a shirt, I saw we're good now!" She began laughing, and even I couldn't help but laugh a little. I noticed she stopped and her eyes widened.

"What?"

"Oh my god… I've never heard you laugh.. your laugh is ADORABLE."

 _Great, way to let your guard down Shadow._

"Let's forget this happened." I leaned back, rubbing my quills.

"For now, maybe, but I'll _never_ forget that!" she said, her smile bigger than ever.

I quickly tried to change the topic but she wasn't having it. "So what-"

"Why don't you laugh more often?"

I stared at her blankly. "What?"

"You heard me!" she pushed my arm in a playful way.

"I don't know, I wasn't exactly created to show emotion."

She rolled over onto her side, glaring up at me. "Makes sense… but you do show emotion, in your own way. You apologized, and I didn't have to ask you to!"

I sat there for a moment realizing she was right. _Did I change when I lost my memory? I don't remember exactly how I used to act, but from what I've gathered it sounds like I could be helpful or hurtful at the blink of an eye._

"Rouge?" I broke the silence, causing her to glance back at me.

"Yes hon?" she replied calmly.

"Am I evil?"

"The only evil thing you've ever done is stand there without a shirt on!" she said in a joking tone, when I didn't laugh her face grew rather serious. "Listen to me carefully okay? Anybody can be good or evil, especially when they're confused. You were never evil Shadow, though you possess a power that most people find… unnatural." She sat up slowly, wincing in pain as she did. I quickly laid her back down.

"Ah no, you stay resting. What did you need?"

She smiled weakly. "Some water and some sleep."

"Okay, I'll be back."

"We will talk about this tomorrow... I promise!" she said in a tired voice.

I got up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing her a water and grabbing me a bag of chips. In the extremely short amount of time that I was gone, she was already beginning to fall asleep. I stood there for a moment, observing how peaceful she was. _So far everything she's told me has been true… it sounds like she's the closest person I've got here on Earth, I should give her a chance._ I placed the water on the table and rubbed my hand through her fur as I walked out.

"Goodnight, _friend._ "

 _Little did Shadow know… Rouge wasn't asleep yet! Now for some this chapter may not have been a huge deal, but Shadow really has never had a "friend" since Maria. He's having a bit of an internal struggle since his memory isn't intact, so I think it's going to lead for some interesting things for me as a writer to play with. Anyways, a little conflict with Omega this chapter, I know it's technically "cannon" for Shadow and Omega to be partners along with Rouge, but like I said, this is my take, so Omega and Eggman are getting buddy buddy. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I actually have written the entire story already, so another chapter will follow soon, and not long after that the next story in this series will start, so stay tuned. There will only be two more chapters! Next chapter, Shadow will have to decide between revenge and what's truly right, and we all know with Shadow having clouded memories, it's sure to be interesting!_


	9. Chapter 9 - Are you a boy or a man?

_Chapter 9 - Are You A Boy or A Man?_

I woke up in the guest bedroom at Club Rouge, I realized it had to be late in the day, because the sun was beaming through the window. _Rouge needs some curtains in here._ I slowly stood, whipping my eyes and stretching. I hadn't noticed it before, but the guest bedroom resembled me a lot. The pillows were black with a red bedspread, the walls were painted white and had gold trimmings around the windows. _It's almost like she made this room specifically for me… I should go see if she's up._ I walked out of the room and noticed her bedroom door was closed. _Well she fell asleep on the couch, I'll check there first._ I walked down the stairs and found the bat in the kitchen. She was wearing pink shorts and a black tank top.

"Good morning hon, how'd you sleep?" she asked as she walked over to the couch, she sounded happier than normal.

"I slept great… I assume you did too?"

She smiled brightly at me. "I really did, I think it had something to do with you coming back… if I'm gonna be honest, I didn't sleep a lot ever since… well, ever since I thought you died."

I sat next to her, placing my hand on her leg.

"I'm here now, so don't lose sleep over me anymore okay?"

She held the same smile, placing her head on my shoulder. "Yeah, okay. Can you promise me something?"

"Possibly, what is it?"

"Don't ever leave again, please?"

 _Hm._

"I don't plan to, but can I ask why you're so worried about that?"

She lifted her head off my shoulder and met my eyes, her emerald eyes were speaking volumes, she was saying so much without saying a word. Her eyes screamed pain, screamed of fear.

"Shadow… I, I've grown really close to you in the short amount of time I've been around you, and being around you just puts me in a better mood, I'm happy around you. I didn't feel like this around Knuckles, you know?"

"I see." I rubbed her chin as I spoke. "You're a good friend Rouge… you've done a lot for me to help me try and remember my past, and I really appreciate you being patient with me."

"Shadow, I'll always be patient with you, you won't remember it but you were patient with me before all this happened."

I chuckled a little, leaning back and glancing towards the TV.

"I know… I trust you, it's weird, I know you but I don't know you… but even I can't shake this feeling of comfort and trust around you."

My words brought a blush out of her, she tried to hide it, but failed miserably.

"Shadow… you're too sweet." she leaned back on my shoulder, I continued watching the TV and talking to her.

"We will see how you feel about me once I'm around all the time."

I felt her ears perk up. "So you definitely are gonna stick around?"

"I'll be here whenever you need me." I said with a smirk. "Hey, did you make the guest room specifically for me? It really makes me feel comfortable."

"Actually, yeah. This'll sound crazy… but once I got this place, I stayed in that room more than my own… just because it reminded me of you."

 _Wow… she really cares about me._

"I'm getting a strong sense of care from you."

She lifted her head and met my eyes once more, this time her eyes were comfortable, they showed safety and relaxation.

"I _do_ care about you Shady, a lot actually." she spoke with a smile, she almost seemed relieved after saying it.

"I'm glad I have someone to watch my back, I know I'm the Ultimate Life Form, but still… even I have bad days."

She laughed loudly, having to stop herself to catch her breath. "Oh trust me, I know! We used to nag at each other back and forth, you'd hate it! Shit, I even hated it too, but I'll never take anything like that for granted again."

"That's a good way to look at it." I leaned back on the couch, still watching her.

"I try to stay positive."

Suddenly, her watch began beeping.

"Ugh, work is calling. Will you be okay being alone for a while?"

"Of course." I replied calmly.

She stood and leaned over towards me, I had no idea what she was doing until I felt her soft lips press against my cheek. I felt my cheeks begin to burn from blushing, I couldn't believe what just happened, and judging by her reaction, she was loving it.

"I'll be back later Shady, be a good boy." she said with a giggle, leaving to go to work.

I on the other hand sat there speechless, I couldn't even comprehend what had just happened. _She just kissed me… and I liked it?_

I was lost, I flipped through the channels on the TV to distract me, I tried to take a nap, but everything kept going back to her. _Damnit, why am I feeling this way? It was just a kiss, I'm sure she meant nothing by it… ugh why am I being like this?_

I stood and walked out of the Club to get some fresh air, as I was walking down the street I ran into the cat again.

"Blaze!" I called out, she turned around and greeted me with a smile.

"Hey Shadow, I see you remember me!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I don't plan on losing my memory again, I found Eggman."

"Well where is he?"

"Kinda at the place where you found me…"

She frowned a little. "So you knew all along?"

"Don't be angry, I was confused… I realize you're trying to do good."

She nodded and we began to walk together. "I'm not angry, I know it must be hard. I would like to reward you for your honesty though."

My ears perked with interest, she now had my full attention. "I'm listening."

"Commander Towers… I have a location for you."

I was shocked, my jaw was practically touching the floor and I felt like if my eyes were any wider they would've exploded.

"Well! Where is he?"

She grabbed my arm to calm me down. "Easy, focus Shadow. He's in Station Square living under an alias, he goes by the name of "Mr. Lopez" he won't be too difficult to find since you know what he looks like, here's the address." she handed me a piece of paper.

"How did you know I wanted Towers?" I asked as I grabbed the paper.

"I'm from the future Shadow, I know lots of things." she said with a smile, with that she walked off towards Eggman's base, while I decided it was time to pay Towers one final visit.

Later that night, I found myself outside a quiet cabin in the woods. Snow was falling slowly between the trees, the noise from the city had died down and all you could hear was the trees moving with the wind.

 _I followed the directions she gave me and it led me here? This doesn't make sense…_

I walked over and peered in one of the windows, a fire was burning in the fireplace, and a small TV lit the corner of the room up. I crept towards the door and pushed it open slightly. _This idiot didn't even lock the door._ I stood in the dark for a moment, letting my eyes adjust before I proceeded into the cabin. I heard some rustling coming from the room with the TV. _He must be in there._ I peered around the corner and saw a tall man slumped over in a chair. I quietly walked closer and examined the man, sure enough it was the former commander of GUN. Towers was fast asleep, a newspaper lying over his stomach. _I could kill him right now and everything would be normal again… but that's too easy for him, I need to wake him and-_

Just then the communicator given to me by Rouge began to vibrate. _God Dammit._ I slowly walked back outside and left the door cracked, I reached into my leather jacket and pulled out the communicator.

"Rouge."

"Shadow! Thank god, I need your help sweetie."

"I'm busy, you'll have to wait."

I heard her huff before she replied.

"Shadow, please what could be more important than… wait a second…"

silence fell over for a moment.

"You're not going to kill Towers are you?" she said in a concerned voice.

"Of course I am." I replied calmly.

"SHADOW! What the hells wrong with you, I know he's bad but killing him won't bring Maria back, what he did was wrong but think Shadow, Maria wouldn't want you to kill anyone!"

"DON'T SPEAK AS IF YOU KNEW HER BAT!" I yelled louder than intended.

"You're such a fucking child."

"... excuse me bat?"

"I said YOU'RE A DAMN CHILD. Grow the hell up Shadow, killing in cold blood?"

"Is revenge cold blood Rouge? I'd kill someone if they hurt you…"

Silence again.

"That doesn't make it anymore right Shadow. Now are you gonna be a man and arrest him or a boy and kill him?"

"You can't be serious?" I huffed.

"I'm dead serious, I know Maria is important to you, but if you kill him you're not staying at my place anymore."

 _Seriously Rouge? You're making me pick you or Maria?_

She spoke breaking the long silence.

"Shadow I'm serious, Maria wouldn't want this!"

"You may be right bat, but I'm here already, I assure you once I'm done I will return to help you."

"Fuck you Shadow." She said in a hurt voice then hung up.

"What… was that even about…" I asked myself as I crept back inside, once I walked over to the chair I panicked when I realized Towers wasn't there anymore.

"Not another step Shadow, this ends here!"

I slowly turned and met the former commander, he held a sawed off shotgun towards me.

"You're right commander, this does end here!" I quickly grabbed my chaos emerald as he fired, the energy from the emerald allowed me to absorb the tiny pellets with no problem, then I landed a swift kick to the barrel of the shotgun, knocking it to the floor as I quickly jumped once more and kicked him back into the wall. He hit then collapsed with a loud thud, leaving a small pool of blood around his head. He slowly lifted his head and revealed he bit through his tongue.

"Thath enouth" he said spitting blood.

"Save your breath Towers, you're lucky I'm gonna let you live after all the pain you've caused me." I said as I leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Chaos Control and teleporting back to the GUN HQ. Once I arrived, I handed him over to some agents on standby.

"Where's Agent Rouge?" I asked immediately.

"We lost contact with her almost 30 minutes ago, she was engaging Eggman when we lost contact."

 _Shit._ I didn't respond to the agents, I simply turned and chaos controlled to Eggman's base. Once I landed, I heard fighting in the upper floors and the alarm was blaring loudly.

 _Sounds like she really does need help._

I took off without a second thought, dashing up towards the fighting. Upon arrival, I was greeted with Omega and Eggman fighting Blaze, Rouge was nowhere in sight.

"Ahhh Shadow, so nice of you to join us!" Eggman said with a chuckle, tapping Omega then pointing towards me.

"AFFIRMATIVE." Was all the robot said.

I quickly jumped over towards Blaze and protected her.

"Shadow, we need to make this quick!"

I glanced back between punches from Omega.

"Why?" I managed to spit out.

"Rouge is severely wounded, Omega shot her!"

"YOU WHAT?" I screamed at Omega, causing him to stop throwing punches and stare at me.

"I was following orders."

 _Following orders?_ I felt my skin begin to burn, I was shaking uncontrollably when I heard the doctor chuckle nervously.

"Uhhhh Omega, you may wanna stop him."

"HIS CHAOS POWER IS SOARING THROUGH THE ROOF."

I began to shake faster, I managed to open my eyes to find the familiar red aura surrounding me.

"CHAOS-"

"Oh shit."

"BLAST!"

Chaos energy was sent throughout the entire room, everything was destroyed or knocked over, leaving me on me knees in the center of the room, huffing and gasping for air.

 _That really takes a lot out of me… I gotta learn to control my anger…_

I glanced back and saw Blaze back on her knees, leaning over the wounded bat, she looked horrible.

"Get her out of here Blaze, I'll finish this!"

"NO! Shadow, you need to do that teleport thing you do, she's not gonna make it any other way!"

I felt my skin grow ice cold from what she said. _Wouldn't make it…_ I quickly stood, almost collapsing from exhaustion, but I caught myself and ran over to grab the bat. Once I leaned over and held her head up, her eyes fluttered open and she held a soft smile.

" _My hero."_ she said, barely getting the words out.

I didn't even respond, I chaos controlled her to GUN immediately, leaving Blaze with Eggman and Omega.

Once the light died down, I saw the looks of horror from the other agents.

"WELL DON'T JUST FUCKING STAND THERE, GET HELP!" I yelled, causing everyone to rush out and find the GUN doctors. I carried the injured bat over to a table and laid her down carefully.

" _AHHHH Shadow! Be careful."_ She winced as I released her.

"I'm so sorry Rouge… I should've been there." I grabbed her arm and rubbed her fur, causing her to glance up at me.

" _I know Shadow the Hedgehog isn't worried about me now is he?"_ she said with the biggest smile she could muster up.

I simply shook my head and let my body take over, quickly hugging her. "Don't fucking die, once help gets here I must go make sure Blaze is okay."

" _Shadow… did you kill him_? _Did you kill Towers?_ "

I glanced into her eyes and saw the concern. "No… I did as you asked and arrested him."

"Why?" She asked before I even had time to breathe.

Just as I opened my mouth, the doctors ran in.

"We will discuss this once you're healthy. Remember what I said, _don't die."_ I rubbed my hand across her head one last time, then I chaos controlled to Eggman's base once more. This time upon arrival things were much different. Eggman was tied up while Blaze and Omega were locked in battle.

"OH SHADOW, HAVE YOU RETURNED TO DESTROY ME?"

I didn't respond, I began wailing with every fiber of my being, every last ounce of strength went into hurting Omega. I punched and punched and punched, eventually backing him into a wall and punching so hard he went through it.

"SHADOW THAT'S ENOUGH." The robot called out, causing me to stop and flare up at him.

"You could've killed the one person I have left you fucking asshole, I know you're programmed to follow orders but use all that information you have in there and form your own fucking opinion! The doctor is crazy, he's simply using you, he doesn't care if you get destroyed because he can just build another one. Use the intelligence he gave you against him Omega, THINK!"

The robot hovered in place for a moment then leaned towards me.

"I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT SHADOW, BEFORE YOU RETURNED THE CAT SAID SOMETHING SIMILAR."

I glanced back at Blaze, who was smiling and holding Eggman by her feet.

"Omega, promise me you'll stop working for him!"

"BUT SHADOW, WHAT ELSE WOULD I DO? I'M PROGRAMMED FOR WORK, WITHOUT HIM I HAVE NO PURPOSE."

I quickly grabbed the robot and forced his attention back onto me.

"Listen big guy, you can work with GUN, they could really use someone like you. I don't think Rouge will like it, but I know once you get over Eggman you can actually be of some use."

"THANK YOU SHADOW, CAN YOU TAKE ME TO THIS GUN YOU SPEAK OF?"

"Yes, after we go talk to Blaze." I said as I walked off towards the cat, Omega by my side the entire way.

"You two are fast friends." She chuckled as she forced Eggman to stand.

"Not friends, but I know a lot about him and he knows a lot about me, there's respect there." I responded as I glanced at the doctor, he was all bruised from the debris of my chaos blast.

"Let's get this guy into lockup." Blaze said with confidence.

"I couldn't agree more." I grabbed her and Omega, while she grabbed the doctor. After causing chaos control and finding ourselves back at GUN HQ, I decided it was time for me to find Rouge.

"Omega, stay with Blaze and once everything is settled, find Commander Topaz, she'll help with getting you a GUN position."

"THANK YOU SHADOW, IT MEANS A LOT."

I nodded as the duo carried off Eggman, then turned and walked down the long hallways, scanning for Rouge. Eventually I came across the medical corridor, finding a few wounded agents and a white bat laid up in beds. I walked over and pulled the curtain behind me, giving me and Rouge a little privacy. She was asleep up until I moved the curtain, I watched as her ears perked up and a smile lit her face as she watched me sit next to her.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you Shady." She waved me over and hugged me, I returned it after a moment.

"I'm glad your okay Rouge."

She leaned back, still smiling. "What? Did ya really think I would die?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, I didn't wanna imagine that." I said as I leaned back in the chair, same serious tone as always.

"Shadow, no need to be so on edge about it! I'm okay, I promise. After tonight, they're gonna let me go home and recover." She went from smiling to her straight face, her eyes glowed with concern.

"You look like hell."

"Yeah, thanks." I said with a chuckle.

"No Shady, are you okay?" she said in a serious tone.

I merely peered my eyes at her, still leaning back in the chair. "Look who's worried now." I said, almost smiling.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Shut up! I can't help it, you saved me and to see you like this… did you do that protecting me?"

"Yes." I said without hesitation.

"I owe you." She said after a deep breath.

"You owe me nothing, if anything I owe you… I should've been there."

"AH AH STOP!" She said quickly. "You didn't kill Towers, you did the right thing, and at the end of the day we both made it out alive, I say that's a win."

I nodded in agreement. "Along with you being okay and Towers and Eggman being arrested, I gotta say today has been far more productive than I imagined."

"What about the robot?"

"He's still intact, he finally saw Eggman was using him too."

"I'm surprised you didn't destroy him."

"... I wanted to." I said after a long pause, gripping the arms of the chair in anger.

"It's okay Shady! Calm down, it's over now."

"I know… I still can't believe I let it happen."

"Shadow even if you were there it probably would've happened, so drop it okay? Don't be so hard on yourself."

I glanced up to see a smile still on her face. "You manage to stay so positive… I kinda envy that."

"Shadow, I promise one day you'll figure everything out and you'll be happy again, just give it time!" she said, reaching out her hand for me to grab.

I grabbed it, giving her a calm glare. "I'm happier now than I've been in a long time…"


	10. Chapter 10 - What, we're a team now?

_Chapter 10 - What? We're a team now?_

"I'm sorry to ruin this moment, but I need to run some tests on Commander Rouge." A doctor interrupted, causing me to quickly release Rouge's hand and blush madly. I caught a glimpse of her blushing as well, so I took the moment to sneak away and regain myself. _Damn why does that happen? Ugh she's so confusing, she brings out a side of me that I know nothing about._ I stood outside the room waiting for the doctor to walk out, after a few moments he walked out and sent me a glare.

"I recommend you stay with her overnight, I put her on some medicine that's very effective, but it's known to give patients harsh dreams."

I nodded as he turned and walked off, writing down notes on his clipboard. I simply returned to Rouge's bedside and sat next to her. For the most part, she seemed normal.

"Welcome back Shady." She said with a smile.

"I was gone for 5 minutes at most." I said with a straight face.

"Oh come on, don't act like you didn't miss me."

"Rouge… I was right outside the door."

"Oh excuses excuses, anyways wanna do me a favor?"

"What is it that you need?"

A smile crept back on her face, I knew this was gonna be trouble.

"I would _love_ a massage."

"I've never given one before."

"There's a first time for everything Shadow, plus you have such a strong grip, you'll be great!" her tone changed to a more seductive tone she tended to use to get what she wanted. To nobody's surprise, it always worked.

"Fine, perhaps I owe you that much."

"That's the spirit! Now turn around so I can take my clothes off."

"Wha- what?!" I looked at her like she was crazy, yet she simply laughed it off.

"Oh my you've got a lot to learn don't ya. Turn around and I'll tell you when to look."

"Rouge…"

"AH AH, Shadow, trust me!"

With hesitation, I turned and faced the wall. I heard her skin tight suit unzip and I heard her moving around behind me, after a moment she climbed back onto the bed and spoke to me.

"Okay Shady, you may look."

Reluctantly, I turned and blushed madly at what I saw. She was lying on her stomach wearing nothing but a black laced thong. She had her head propped on her hands glaring at me. Once she saw my reaction, she laughed and called me out on it.

"Oh Shady, my eyes are up here hon." She said in that same seductive tone. I glanced up and met her emerald eyes, they screamed pleasure. _She loves fucking messing with me doesn't she?_

I walk up to her and glare at her. "Now what?"

"Climb on the bed and sit on my legs, massage my back and shoulders please!"

I obeyed, I climbed onto her and began to rub her shoulders. "Like this?"

"Ye- yeah holy shit that feels amazing!" she said, letting out a moan filled with pleasure. I began blushing again as I continued massaging her, I couldn't help but keep glancing down at her toned ass. _Shadow snap out of it, why the hell am I having these thoughts? Ugh, why is everything so confusing when I'm around her? With everyone else, they're friend or foe, but with her it's like... Ugh._

I continued over the next hour massaging her deeply, we made small talk and chatted about little things, before long she was fast asleep beneath me. Being determined as I am, I finished the massage even though she had fallen asleep. After I finished, I slid off the bed and pulled the covers over her body. _This should keep her warm… sleep tight, bat._

After watching her sleep for a few minutes, I felt myself begin to drift off as well. It wasn't long after I had fallen asleep when I was awakened by her scream. I shot up quickly to find her sitting up in bed, panting rapidly.

"Rouge what the hell, are you okay?"

She glanced over and saw me, it was like she instantly calmed down, then I saw a tear roll off her face. I quickly stood and sat next to her on the bed.

"I- I…. I thought you were dead… I was just dreaming." She hugged me tightly, I felt her warm tears rolling down my back.

"Rouge… I'm okay it was just a nightmare, the medicine you're on tends to do that."

After a long embrace and her finally regaining herself, she pulled away and laid back down, still wrapped up in the covers.

"Shady?"

"Hm?"

"Please stay with me tonight."

I chuckled. "I was here when you woke up wasn't I? I'm not going anywhere."

"No, I mean stay with me tonight." She patted the bed next to her, and it hit me that she meant she wanted me to sleep next to her. I suddenly remembered this had happened before my memory was wiped. _Don't make a habit of this bat._ I remember saying to her, yet here I was, climbing into bed with her once more. She threw the covers over me and wrapped her arms around me immediately, I closed my eyes and laid next to her, except something was completely different this time than it was the last time. I thought on it for a moment, then it hit me. I quickly opened my eyes to find Rouge smiling widely, I felt my face burning up.

"Rouge you realize-

"That I'm not wearing a shirt and my tits are pressed against your chest? Yes Shadow, I'm aware." she said with a giggle.

"I'm guessing you're not gonna put a shirt on?" I asked nervously.

"Awe Shady, does someone not like it? She said in her same seductive tone.

I was still blushing, and to hide my face from her I decided to bury my face in her neck. I felt her relax a little as I whispered to her.

"Goodnight bat."

I felt her lean over, then I felt her lips on my cheek.

"Goodnight, _hero._ " She said, leaving her arms wrapped around me as she pulled me back up, just to place her head on my chest. _She drives me crazy… and I like it… what the hell is wrong with me?_

The next morning, I found myself still tightly cuddled into Rouge. She hadn't woken me up since her dream, so I assumed she didn't have anymore incidents. I opened my eyes to find her head buried in my neck, I felt her cool breath on my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. _Should I wake her, or let her sleep? Fuck it, she had a rough day yesterday… I'll let her sleep._ Instead of going back to sleep, I found myself thinking back on the adventure me and Rouge had been on since I landed on the planet. When I laid next to her last night, memories began to flood my head from the past. _I assume since we've done this before, it reminded me of the past… I remember so much now, the jewelry store, the RV… such a roller coaster of emotion lies between us… it's almost like we're supposed to be in each other's lives…_ The thought sent chills down my spine once more. _Does that even make sense? Maybe I'll bring it up and ask her once she's-_

"Good morning Shady!" her voice broke my thoughts, I glanced down and was met with her warm smile.

"Good morning, I assume you slept better after your dream?"

She nodded, not removing her head from my chest.

"How do you feel?"

She looked up, her eyes still slightly closed from just waking up. "I feel better, I'm not 100% but hey, after yesterday I'm lucky to even be here right now."

I nodded in agreement. "You're damn right, I thought for a second you were actually gonna go off and die on me."

She lifted her head off my chest and was now inches away from my face.

"So you were worried?" she said with a smile.

If it were anyone else this close to me, I would've felt uncomfortable, but with Rouge I was starting to get used to her behavior, she was very hands on, very up in my face and seductive. I could see why she tended to get what she wanted.

"Yes… I was worried about you." I said in a low tone.

"Ah what was that? I couldn't quite hear that Shady."

"Oh bullshit." I said quickly.

She snorted with laughter. "Oh someone doesn't wanna play today?" She held that seductive tone she loved to use against me.

"We need to get you home so you can rest." I replied calmly, lifting her off me and standing from the bed. I was about to grab my shirt when I felt her tug on my boxers, so I turned and met her.

"What now Rouge?"

She held a smile, almost an evil looking one. "Oh nothing, I just wanted to admire your abs before you throw your shirt back on." she snickered and rolled out of bed. I quickly turned away realizing she still had no bra or shirt on.

 _Dammit, I can't believe I slept with her half naked, what the hell was I thinking._

"Oh so you can sleep with me but you're too embarrassed to look Shady?"

"Let's not discuss this." I quickly shut down the conversation and walked into the hallway, where I met the doctor walking towards the room.

"Ah yes the lovely couple is awake! She's good to go, I checked in on her earlier but you two seemed rather occupied so I let you be." the doctor said after writing some notes on his clipboard.

"Wait… couple?"

Before he could respond Rouge walked out. "Am I good to go doc?"

"Yes Ms. Rouge, just make sure you take about a week off before returning to work, and if you happen to train any before then, no contact allowed, understood?"

"Completely understand doc, thanks for your help."

"No problem." They shook hands, then he glanced over at me. "I trust you'll make sure she doesn't do anything dumb over the next week?"

"I'll make sure to look over her until she's well."

With that, me and the bat headed back to Club Rouge, once we arrived I sat her down on the couch and got her a pillow and a few blankets, she specifically asked to stay on the couch since she didn't have a TV in her room. I ordered us a pizza and told her to watch whatever she wanted, we ate then talked back and forth about our journey.

"Hey Shady?"

"Yes?"

"We've come along way, you know?"

"Somewhat, I remember most of what we've been through."

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you." she held a warm smile, she wrapped her arms around my arm and leaned against me.

"For what exactly?"

"Hmmm, for being there for me after my break up, or how about saving me when GUN shot me? Or even the time where I convinced you to sleep with me on the RV!"

"I enjoyed the jewelry store fiasco we went through, even though you ended up shot, the acting was quite entertaining."

"Yeah, we played good as a couple…" her voice trailed off a bit at the end.

"Is something wrong?"

"No Shady, everything's fine I promise. Hey! Remember that one time you went off and fought Sonic then left me worried all night about you, just for you to return and practically leave me! Jeez I really hated you that day… I didn't show it but I was so disappointed you wanted to leave."

"Well, I'm sorry that happened but, think of it like this, we're together now right? As a team, _nobody_ can stop us! Now, get some sleep okay? If you need me, I'll be up, just yell for me."

"Shady, thanks for everything you do for me."

"Don't worry about it, you'd do the same for me."

After exchanging looks and a quick hug, Rouge laid back and began to fall asleep. Me on the other hand, I was wondering about what was to come. I decided since I would be around Rouge for a while, she would become my main priority. _I'll protect her at all costs, once she's well again I'll help her with whatever she needs until I find some other purpose. I know Maria wants me to help others, but after taking down Towers and Eggman, it'll likely be a while before someone else steps up. I'll take this time to grow my friendship with Rouge, there's still a lot I don't know about her…_

Suddenly my communicator vibrated, I quietly snuck out and answered.

"This is Shadow."

"Shadow, this is Commander Topaz, I have a proposition for you!"

"I'm listening."

"How would you like to work with GUN?"

"No thanks." I went to hang up but she stopped me.

"HOLD ON! Hear me out, we're gonna give you your own team, a small 3 man squad, what do you think?"

"Hm, as long as I may handpick my other members, then I shall consider it."

"Name them."

"Rouge and Omega."

"Done. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

"I'll inform Rouge and Omega that they'll be forming a team with you, any idea what you should call it?"

"You choose, but don't tell Rouge, I'd like to surprise her."

"Okay Shadow, see you next week."

The call ended and I walked back inside, Rouge was sound asleep so I decided to wait until she wakes up. I sat in the chair next to her and leaned back. _Should I turn the TV on? Nah, I don't wanna wake her…_ I closed my eyes and let my mind trail off. _I don't wanna wake her? I don't understand these feelings, I don't know why I feel so protective of her, why I'm so comfortable around her… I've never felt it before. No matter, maybe I'll ask her about it._ It wasn't long before I felt myself doze off to sleep.

 _ **Shadow.**_

I opened my eyes to find a blond haired girl standing across from me.

"Maria?"

 _ **Hey silly, how's my favorite hedgehog?**_

"Is this a dream?"

 _ **Not exactly, I've been given the ability to give you advice. It's up to you if you decide to take it or not, at the end of the day you're your own man.**_

"Well, what kind of advice do you offer?"

 _ **It's about your friend, Rouge.**_

"You know about her?!"

 _ **Haha, yes, I watch over you Shadow, I guess you could call me your guardian.**_

"My guardian? Maria, I've missed you so much… please stay!"

 _ **Shadow, I never left… I'm always here.**_ She pointed at my chest. _**I'm always in your heart Shadow, I always will be. Now listen I don't have much time, the team you're starting with Rouge and Omega will face some tough challenges soon… you're going to find out who you can truly trust and who's out to get you, but I need you to trust me when I say this, Rouge is the only one that truly seems to go out of her way for you. Make sure you show her you appreciate everything she does for you Shadow, like you did for me back on the ARK, when you got Gerald to cook us some dinner and let us talk about Earth, remember?**_

"I'll never forget…"

 _ **Protect her Shadow, show her you care.**_

"I… I will, I promise."

 _ **Good. I'll be seeing you, Shadow the Hedgehog.**_

"Maria! WAIT!"

Before I knew it I felt myself shaking awake to find Rouge standing over me.

"Shadow you okay hon? You were shaking like you were having a bad dream."

I sat up catching my breath, I noticed how hot I was. "Yeah… I'm fine, thank you for waking me." I stood up and glanced back at the bat, she had her hand placed on her hip and had a worried expression.

"Shady, why don't you take a shower?"

"Good idea. Are you going out?"

"No, I figured I'd stay in with you tonight… I need to recover anyway."

"True… okay, I'll see you in a little bit then."

"Of course ya will handsome." She said in a seductive tone, walking back over to the couch and lying down. Something about her was mesmerizing, the way she walked, the way she grabbed my attention the way no one else could. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

I walked into the bathroom and quickly threw off my shirt, I turned the water as hot as possible and let the steam fill the room. I stood glancing at myself in the mirror as my image faded away, I was freaking myself out, my heart was beating out of my chest. _Maria… why couldn't you have told me why this happens._ I slid my pants and boxers off then jumped into the steaming hot shower, after a moment I adjusted to the water and let it run over my quills. I felt so relieved in the water, as if I had been stressed and the burden was lifted from my shoulders. _Show her I care… ugh, I have to try something…_

After a few minutes of cleaning and thinking, I hopped out and wrapped myself in a towel, then walked into the living room to find Rouge not on the couch but in the kitchen. _Here goes nothing.._ I walked over and leaned against the counter, waiting for her to turn around. She was pouring chips into a bowl, for a snack I presume. She turned and smiled widely at me.

"Well look at you all clean and handsome, if I didn't know any better I'd say you like teasing me with your shirt off!" She said with a laugh. Even I had to smirk a bit, I didn't intentionally try and mess with her, but I slowly began to pick up on what she likes.

"Come here." I simply said, in fact it wasn't asking, it was almost a demand. Without hesitation, she placed down the bowl and found herself right in front of me. I leaned off the couch and stood in front of her, then I embraced her deeply, I felt her cool breath against my neck, it sent chills down my spine.

" _Thank you for everything you do for me_." I whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver as well.

"Shadow… what's gotten into you!" She said with a smile as we pulled out of the embrace.

"I care about you, and I want you to know that."

With a slight blush and the same big smile, she walked closer and grabbed my hand. "And I care about you Shady, I feel so.. so safe around you, I don't know how to describe it, but I feel like you'll never let anything happen to me."

I felt my lips begin to curl upwards, larger than usual. I was actually smiling, and she took notice. "I'll never let anything happen to you, you're right bat."

She grabbed my chin and rubbed it. "You need to smile more."

"You're the only one who's managed to make me smile thus far, but I'll work on that."

We embraced once more, then she walked off with her bowl of chips and sat on the couch.

"Let's watch a movie Shady!"

I walked over and stood behind the couch, arms crossed.

"Not yet."

She quickly looked back and saw my serious expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I have news."

"… well?"

"You, me, and Omega have been selected to an elite group at GUN. I accepted upon our behalf."

She sat for a moment, I honestly expected to see anger, but in response I was pulled over the couch and rolled next to her. Glancing up, she had placed herself on top of me and held my towel closely.

"You just can't stay away from me, can you Shady?" She said in that tone, the tone that always got to me. She ran her hand along my abs and played with my chest fur, then placed a kiss on my cheek.

"I'll happily fight beside you, though I think we could live without the robot."

"He'll grow on you… now can I get dressed now?"

She glanced down at the towel and laughed. "Of course Shadow, go ahead." She rolled off me and gave me a seductive look, I knew the game she was playing, and I liked it.

1 Week Later… GUN Briefing Room with Topaz, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega.

"Agents, I've brought you in here today to officially assign you as a team, as of today, you'll go by Team Dark. Shadow will lead you, but there will be certain missions where you will switch roles, depending on expertise and scenarios. I hate to bring a mission on you guys so early, but we have a rather urgent matter…" Topaz ended with a tone change, from proud to almost nervous.

"What's the problem hon?" Rouge asked.

"Well… Eggman and Towers are still in prison, but one of Eggman's old bases has been having some odd dark energy emitting from it… I need you guys to go check it out."

"I'll check it out, Rouge and Omega need to work on chemistry." I responded.

"Shadow, you need to work with them too!"

"I've worked with them both, I know how they work."

"Fine, Rouge and Omega, you two do training exercises while Shadow investigates and reports back to me, understood?"

"UNDERSTOOD."

"Understood Topaz."

With that, Rouge exited with Omega close behind, while Topaz followed shortly after giving me a nod of approval, I chaos controlled to Eggman's base, not knowing what I was walking into. Upon arrival I could feel the dark energy, it was… unsettling to say the least. I felt how cool the air was, as if some dark entity was nearby. I walked into the base and heard noises coming from the old lab room. Once I entered I saw a dark hedgehog, much like myself, except with dark blue, almost grey stripes along his quills. Across from him was an injured Blaze the Cat. I walked closer and he quickly turned, meeting me with his cold eyes.

"Ah, about time you showed up… Shadow the Hedgehog."

 _AHHH, cliffhanger for the finale of this story?! IKR, but hey, sequel is in the works as we speak! I finished telling the first "chapter" of Shadows journey in my eyes, and now he will have to face not one, but TWO major enemies. I'm sure if you're familiar with the Sonic games you know who I described there at the end, and I haven't given any hints on who the second villain will be, you'll just have to read my next story for that. Keep your eyes out for "When Darkness Rises." With that being said, feel free to review and let me know what you guys think of Shadows progression, not only with himself but also with Rouge, she's obviously going to play a major role in his life! Feel free to let me know where you see them going, will they always be just partners or will they be more?! Hope you all enjoyed, next story is already being worked on but I probably won't release anything until after Christmas, happy holidays everyone!_


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